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China’s top chip maker SMIC says it has never had any Russian clients, allaying concerns over potential new US sanctions
- Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp says it has always been operating in compliance with existing trade restrictions
- That statement comes months after SMIC was singled out by Washington in a warning to Chinese tech firms over potential violations of US sanctions on Russia
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Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) on Wednesday said that it has never had any customers in Russia, assuaging investor concerns that the Chinese contract chip maker could be punished by Washington over potential violations of US economic sanctions on the country for invading Ukraine.
“SMIC has always been operating in compliance. The company has never had any Russian customers,” the firm said in response to an investor’s question on an online information platform run by the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
That response comes months after SMIC, mainland China’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, was singled out by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who warned that Washington could “essentially shut” the company down by denying it access to American tools and software if it sold semiconductors to Russia.
The US government already added SMIC to its trade blacklist in December 2020, barring American suppliers from shipping equipment and materials to the Shanghai-based firm without Washington’s consent.
SMIC’s latest posting to investors reflects how Chinese technology companies are in a difficult position in terms of doing business in Russia, as Beijing opposes US-led Western sanctions against Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
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