The United States constantly evaluates if it should expand export control of advanced semiconductors to China.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters on Monday that officials consider the issue of chip export to China “every single day.”
“Technology is changing faster than ever, which means we have to wake up every day and ask ourselves, ‘are we doing enough?’” she said.
Since 2022, the U.S. has been restricting the sale of semiconductors to China, particularly those that can be used for military applications, including the development of artificial intelligence and hypersonic missiles. In 2023, the Department of Commerce expanded the export control to include equipment that can be used to manufacture advanced chips.
The export controls also include companies based in Macao or any country under a U.S. arms embargo, preventing China from circumventing the restrictions.
The measure has led to frustrations in Beijing, prompting the Chinese Ministry of Commerce to accuse Washington of threatening the “stability of industrial supply chains.”
Raimondo said at the Monday press conference that her role is to ensure that the Chinese do not gain access to Americans’ “more sophisticated technology,” even as the U.S. intends to continue to sell billions of dollars worth of semiconductors to the world’s largest manufacturing economy.