The Biden administration is considering further restricting China’s access to chip technology for artificial intelligence, targeting the latest hardware that has just entered the market.
According to Bloomberg citing sources on Tuesday (June 11), the measures under discussion would limit China’s ability to use a cutting-edge chip architecture called Gate-all-Around (GAA). GAA is a transistor structure that helps improve chip performance and reduce power consumption.
It is not yet clear when officials will make a final decision, as they are determining the scope of potential regulations. The United States aims to make it harder for China to assemble and operate complex computing systems needed for artificial intelligence models and to block it before the technology is commercialized.
Due to the Chinese Communist Party repeatedly challenging the security bottom line of Western democratic countries, disrupting global order, and forming an “axis of evil” with countries like Russia and Iran, the U.S. has imposed bans on China, despite having assisted China for decades in the past.
The White House also emphasized that chip control measures are not meant to hinder China’s economic development but to ensure U.S. security.
The U.S. has already imposed numerous restrictions on the sale of advanced semiconductors and chip manufacturing tools to China. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has repeatedly stated that the U.S. will increase these measures as needed to prevent Beijing from gaining access to the most advanced artificial intelligence technology, as the U.S. is concerned that this could give the Chinese military an advantage.
Sources revealed that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the Department of Commerce recently sent a draft GAA rule to a technical advisory committee. This committee, composed of industry experts, provides recommendations on specific technical parameters and represents the final step in the regulatory process.
The report stated that industry officials criticized the first version as too broad, so the rule has not been finalized. It remains unclear whether the ban will restrict China’s ability to develop its own GAA chips or go further in attempting to prevent overseas companies (especially U.S. chip manufacturers) from selling their products to Chinese electronics manufacturers.
Companies like Nvidia, Intel Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., as well as partners Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co., are seeking to start mass production of semiconductors using GAA designs next year.
Moreover, the U.S. government is pushing the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, and Japan to further tighten restrictions on China’s access to semiconductor technology. The UK is also following the U.S. lead, restricting exports of sensitive technology to China. In March, the UK imposed controls on integrated circuit technology with Gate-All-Around Field-Effect Transistor (GAAFET) structures.
In April, UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden stated that the UK intends to expand restrictions on overseas investment and exports of emerging technologies to protect national security.