China is striking a new blow in its chip wars with the United States, reportedly telling its telecommunications companies to phase out foreign-made chips from their networks.
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, reports that Chinese officials told the country’s largest telecom companies earlier this year to stop using foreign core processors by 2027. Those companies included China Mobile and China Telecom. And that could be trouble for two key American chipmakers: Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Intel and AMD have provided most of the core chips used in Chinese telecom network infrastructure in recent years, The Journal reports — and losing this line of Chinese business would impact them more than any other foreign chipmakers. Instead, Chinese telecom companies will turn to homegrown chips, which have improved in the nation.
As a part of the slowdown, state-owned mobile operators have been directed by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to inspect their networks for foreign-made chips and produce a timeline to replace them, The Journal reports.
Chip security
China has been pushing to phase out foreign-made products in the country due to national security concerns, The Journal reports. In March, China introduced new guidelines eliminating Intel and AMD chips from government computers and servers in favor of domestic-made alternatives. The new rules seek to block foreign technology from federal computers, including operating systems like Microsoft’s Windows and other database software made overseas, The Financial Times reports.
Intel declined to comment Friday. AMD didn’t immediately responded to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, the United States is also stepping up efforts to curb Chinese advanced chipmaking, and has reportedly asked South Korea — one of China’s key trading partners — to adopt export controls on semiconductor tools. U.S. officials have requested that South Korea restrict exports of equipment and technology used to make memory chips and advanced logic chips, Bloomberg reported.
The U.S. is also reportedly set to reveal the names of Chinese companies on its blacklist for receiving U.S.-made chipmaking equipment. American companies are restricted from sending equipment to Chinese semiconductor factories.