U.S. blacklists over 50 Chinese firms in AI and computing crackdown
NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES — The United States has stepped up its bid to keep China at bay in terms of artificial intelligence and high-end computing by placing more than 50 Chinese companies on its export blacklist.
Targeting advanced technologies
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security added 80 entities to the “entity list,” of which over 50 were from China.
These entities were targeted for reportedly acting contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, especially in the development of advanced AI, supercomputers, and high-performance AI chips for military purposes.
The move also aims to restrict China’s access to exascale computing technology and quantum technologies. Global investors previously reacted swiftly to the introduction of a new, low-cost AI model by Chinese startup DeepSeek, triggering a selloff in tech stocks.
AI leader Nvidia experienced a historic loss, shedding $593 billion in market value— the largest one-day loss ever recorded on Wall Street. This drop came after DeepSeek launched its free AI assistant, which quickly surpassed the download numbers of its U.S. counterpart, ChatGPT.
Impact on U.S.-China relations
Among the blacklisted companies are six subsidiaries of Chinese cloud-computing company Inspur Group, which have already been sanctioned by the Biden administration in 2023. Two companies were also blacklisted for providing materials to sanctioned parties such as Huawei and its associated chipmaker HiSilicon.
China’s foreign ministry has condemned “these acts taken by the U.S. and demand that it immediately stop using military-related issues as pretexts to politicize, instrumentalize and weaponize trade and tech issues.”
International reactions and future implications
Alex Capri, a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore, said that these restrictions “cast an ever-widening net aimed at third countries, transit points and intermediaries.”
He pointed out that Chinese companies have taken advantage of loopholes to obtain U.S. strategic dual-use technologies through third parties. The U.S. will likely increase tracking and tracing activities to stop the smuggling of advanced semiconductors.
Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler emphasized that the U.S. is “sending a clear, resounding message” to prevent its technologies from being used for malign purposes.
This move aligns with the broader “small yard, high fence” policy, which aims to restrict technologies with significant military potential while maintaining economic exchange in other areas.
