Trump administration weighs blacklisting China's chipmaker SMIC

U.S. companies including Lam Research, KLA Corp and Applied Materials, which supply key chipmaking equipment, could be impacted by a potential entity listing, industry sources said.

While the Pentagon official did not outline the reasons for the action, SMIC's relationship to the Chinese military is under scrutiny, another U.S. official and two former officials briefed on the matter said.

The administration has increasingly trained its focus on Chinese companies that bolster Beijing's military. Last month, the United States blacklisted 24 Chinese companies and targeted individuals it said were part of construction and military actions in the South China Sea, its first such sanctions against Beijing over the disputed strategic waterway.

The Defense Department has released two lists of Chinese companies in the past few months that it claims are owned or controlled by the People's Liberation Army. The designation gives President Donald Trump the authority to place them on an even tougher blacklist but so far no action has been taken. 

 

Selanjutnya: Italy's Berlusconi has pneumonia after positive coronavirus test