Tech war: China’s top memory chip maker YMTC faces headwinds amid reports US is weighing equipment export ban
- According to report, the US is mulling a ban on shipments of US equipment to Chinese factories that manufacture advanced NAND chips
- Developments come as Washington escalates its efforts to curb the advancement of China’s semiconductor industry
China’s top memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) is facing fresh pressure amid reports that the US is considering limiting equipment exports to memory chip makers on the mainland.
According to a Reuters report, the US is mulling a ban on the shipment of US chipmaking equipment to factories in China that manufacture advanced NAND chips, which would be the first time it has targeted the memory chip industry.
The report comes just days after US senators, including Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, wrote to US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to request that Chinese chip makers such as YMTC are added to a US trade blacklist.
YMTC and its parent company Tsinghua Unigroup did not immediately reply to a request for comment by the Post.
The developments come as Washington escalates its efforts to curb the advancement of China’s semiconductor industry, which it perceives as a threat to its national security. Beijing, meanwhile, has continued to push for greater self-sufficiency in strategic sectors of the economy to reduce the country’s dependence on imports of such technology.
According to media reports, US semiconductor equipment suppliers Lam Research and KLA Corp have said that Washington is pushing for stricter export regulations to China by covering equipment needed for manufacturing chips at 14-nanometre and below, a move that would make it harder for China’s top chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) to expand into advanced chipmaking.