WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has imposed restrictions on technology exports to a state-supported Chinese semiconductor maker, citing national security grounds amid a mounting tariff battle.
The controls imposed Monday on Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. reflect concern that Chinese competition could drive American technology suppliers out of business, leaving the U.S. military without secure sources of components.
Beijing has spent heavily to build up Jinhua and other chipmakers as part of efforts to transform China into a global leader in robotics, artificial intelligence and other technology industries.
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The United States, Europe and other trading partners say Beijing’s tactics violate its market-opening obligations. American officials worry they might erode U.S. industrial leadership.
President Trump has imposed tariffs of up to 25 percent on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods in an effort to pressure Beijing to roll back those plans. Jinhua is completing “substantial production capacity” for integrated circuits, possibly using U.S. technology, which “threatens the long-term economic viability of U.S. suppliers of these essential components of U.S. military systems,” said a Commerce Department statement.
The company was added to the department’s “Entity List,” which will require it to obtain an export license for all software, technology and commodities, the Commerce Department said. It said such applications “will be reviewed with a presumption of denial.”
China’s foreign ministry said it hoped foreign governments would treat Chinese companies “reasonably and fairly.”
“We hope the United States will do something that serves the two sides’ interest and helps improve mutual trust, instead of the other way around,” said a ministry spokesman, Lu Kang.
The order marks the second U.S. action this year blocking technology exports to a Chinese buyer.
ZTE Corp., China’s second-biggest maker of telecom equipment, faced possible bankruptcy this year after Washington imposed a seven-year ban on sales of U.S. technology to the company over its exports to Iran and North Korea. American authorities lifted the ban in July after ZTE paid a $1 billion fine, agreed to replace its executive team and hired U.S.-selected compliance officers.
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