US toughens restrictions on Chinese tech firms linked to military

By Kevin Liptak, CNN

The United States added a major Chinese chipmaker and dozens of other Chinese companies to a trade blacklist Thursday as it works to restrict Beijing’s high-tech and artificial intelligence industries.

Adding chipmaker YMTC to the list of restricted companies escalates Washington’s attempts to crack down on companies that could be used to bolster China’s military.

The restrictions would ban US companies from shipping goods to some of the blacklisted companies without first obtaining a special license. Other companies will be further restricted from buying any product made using American technology.

The US has been working steadily to limit what business US companies can do with Chinese firms that the US suspects of aiding China’s military or its human rights abuses.

In October, the US imposed sweeping new curbs designed to curtail China’s access to technology critical to the manufacturing and operations of its military power. The US alleges the companies added to the lists pose a national security threat, including by helping power artificial intelligence technology and hypersonic missiles

The latest moves come weeks after President Joe Biden met for the first time face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The talks were intended as a starting-off point for greater communication between the two world superpowers.

As part of Thursday’s announcement, the US also said it was removing some Chinese companies from a so-called “watch list” after the firms were deemed to not pose a risk to US national security.

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