Export Ban
WASHINGTON: The United States has expanded its export blacklist by adding six subsidiaries of China’s leading cloud computing and big data service provider, Inspur Group, along with dozens of other Chinese and international entities, including some based in Pakistan. This move is part of Washington’s broader strategy to curb China’s access to advanced technologies, particularly those that could bolster its military capabilities.
According to a statement from the US Commerce Department, the newly blacklisted subsidiaries of Inspur Group were included due to their role in supporting the development of supercomputers for the Chinese military.
While five of these subsidiaries are located in China, one is based in Taiwan. The parent company, Inspur Group, had already been placed on the list in 2023.
In total, around 80 companies and institutions were added to the list on Tuesday, with more than 50 based in China. Other newly listed entities are situated in Taiwan, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.
The US government argues that these restrictions are necessary to prevent China from advancing its high-performance computing capabilities, quantum technology, artificial intelligence, and hypersonic weapons development.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick emphasized the US stance, stating, “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives.”
Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Washington strongly opposed the move, condemning it as an effort to “politicize, instrumentalize, and weaponize trade and technology under the pretext of military-related concerns.”
The Commerce Department’s Entity List consists of companies added due to national security or foreign policy concerns. Businesses listed are required to apply for and obtain special licenses to purchase US-origin goods, though such licenses are often denied.
Commerce official Jeffrey Kessler reaffirmed that the administration’s goal is to prevent American technologies from being misused for military advancements such as high-performance computing, hypersonic missiles, military aircraft training, and drone development.
Alongside the Inspur Group subsidiaries, several other Chinese firms were also added to the list. Among them are Nettrix Information Industry Co, Suma Technology Co, and Suma-USI Electronics, which were reportedly involved in developing exascale supercomputers capable of processing vast amounts of data at extremely high speeds.
The Commerce Department alleges that these firms have been supplying manufacturing capabilities to Sugon, also known as Dawning Information Industry Co. Sugon had been placed on the Entity List in 2019 due to its role in building military-use supercomputers.
The US also cited concerns over certain companies’ involvement in acquiring American technology to advance China’s quantum computing capabilities and for selling components to other blacklisted firms, including Huawei. Huawei, one of the world’s leading technology firms, has long been a target of US sanctions due to its suspected ties to the Chinese government and military.
The newly sanctioned companies have not yet issued official responses. Similarly, major US chip manufacturers such as Nvidia declined to comment on the development, while AMD has yet to respond to media inquiries.
This latest round of US trade restrictions marks another escalation in the ongoing technological and geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. The move is expected to further strain bilateral relations while impacting global supply chains and technology markets.
