Taiwan added Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), two of China’s leading chipmakers, to a trade blacklist a mid an intensifying tech rivalry between China and the US.
The International Trade Administration of Taiwan included Huawei, SMIC and a host of their subsidiaries in a Strategic High-Tech Commodities Entity List, according to the updated list published by the island’s Ministry of Economic Affairs on its website on Saturday.
Huawei and SMIC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
The entity list barred both companies from acquiring key semiconductor technologies from Taiwanese companies, dealing a blow to China’s chipmaking ambitions to rival US producers like Nvidia.
The restrictions would further tighten existing loopholes and curb collaboration between Chinese firms on the entity list and Taiwanese companies, adding to a series of export bans by the US on mainland tech leaders, said Ray Wang, a Washington-based semiconductor and tech analyst.
Shenzhen-based Huawei and Shanghai-based SMIC, both sanctioned by the US, are seen as China’s best hopes in making breakthroughs in the chip sector. The pair launched a home-grown chip made on a 7nm process that debuted in Huawei’s premium Mate 60 smartphone lines in 2023, prompting Washington to reflect on whether its sanctions were working.
