China Bans Micron Chips Amid US Tech Feud
The US and China are in disagreement over technology and security. This decision will make the disagreement worse.
The Chinese government has issued orders for people to not buy Micron Technology Inc's sensitive computer equipment. Micron is the largest US memory chip manufacturer.
China's Cyberspace Administration issued a warning on Sunday about unspecified network security risks related to Micron products. These risks could endanger the country's information infrastructure and national security. No additional information was provided by the administration.
The Chinese agency said that critical information infrastructure operators should not buy from Micron Co.
Advanced technology is being limited for China by the United States, Europe, and Japan. They believe this technology could be used to make weapons. President Xi Jinping has recently threatened to attack Taiwan and is becoming more aggressive towards other neighboring countries.
Chinese leaders are threatening but unsure how to react without harming their phone makers and other industries or their plans to create their own computer chip suppliers.
China will conduct an official review of Micron. This is due to the country's strict information security laws. The announcement came on April 4th. Around the same time, Japan and the US restricted Chinese access to technology for security reasons.
Police searched two consulting firms, Bain & Co. and Capvision, and a due diligence firm, Mintz Group. This made foreign companies worried. The Chinese government didn't say why they raided the firms. However, they reminded foreign companies to follow the law.
Business groups and the US government are asking for more information on new legal restrictions. They want to know how these rules will work.
The announcement on Sunday seems to be aimed at calming foreign companies.
China is encouraging international trade and welcomes foreign companies. They need to follow Chinese laws and regulations when entering the Chinese market. This statement was made by the cyberspace agency.
In March, Xi accused the US of stopping China's progress. He asked the people to be brave and resist.
Beijing hasn't reacted quickly. They might want to avoid disturbing Chinese factories that make most of the world's smartphones and other consumer electronics. These factories get over $300 billion (€278 billion) of foreign chips annually.
China is investing lots of money to make chips faster and depend less on other countries’ tech. Their factories can only make basic chips for things like cars and home devices, not fancy stuff like AI or smartphones.
People are worried that the conflict could lead to the world separating into different groups. These groups would have their own technology standards. The problem is that products from one group might not work in another. This could cause problems and might slow down innovation. It could also make things more expensive.
The relationship between the US and China is not good now. There are many problems, like security and how China treats Hong Kong and Muslim people. Also, there are issues over land and how China makes a lot of money from trade. This has been going on for a long time.
