The Biden administration's sanctions are driven by fears that China's access to high-quality chips could enhance its military applications, particularly through AI. This follows reports of China's People's Liberation Army using Meta's open-source AI model for potential military use. Despite this being the latest wave of measures from the Biden administration, China reportedly expects further sanctions from Trump. China has been stockpiling US chips, with purchases reaching $1.11 billion in October.
Key takeaways:
- The US has introduced new export controls on China's semiconductor industry, targeting 140 firms including Naura Technology Group, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, and Huawei.
- The move aims to curb China's AI and defense tech growth due to national security risks, and it is the third crackdown on China's chipmaking industry since October 2022.
- The US is concerned that China's access to high-quality chips could allow it to bolster its military applications, especially through the use of AI.
- Despite the latest wave of measures from the Biden administration, China reportedly anticipates further sanctions from Trump and has been attempting to stockpile chips from the US.