The Biden administration is contemplating new unilateral restrictions on China’s access to advanced AI memory chips and the equipment used to manufacture them, potentially as early as next month. This move represents a further intensification of the ongoing technological rivalry between the United States and China.
The proposed restrictions would target high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, including the most advanced versions such as HBM3 and HBM3E. These chips, crucial for running AI accelerators developed by companies like Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., are currently supplied by major players in the global HBM market: Micron Technology Inc., SK Hynix Inc., and Samsung Electronics Co.
While Micron has already ceased its sales of HBM products to China following a 2023 ban by Beijing on its memory chips for critical infrastructure, SK Hynix and Samsung could be significantly affected by the new rules. The exact mechanism for imposing these restrictions on the South Korean companies is still uncertain, though one potential approach is the foreign direct product rule (FDPR), which allows the US to control foreign-made products containing American technology.
The Commerce Department has indicated its ongoing evaluation of export controls to safeguard national security and protect the technological ecosystem, affirming its commitment to collaborate with allied nations.
In response, China has vehemently opposed the US measures, accusing Washington of breaching international trade norms and asserting that these actions will not hinder China’s technological progress. Instead, China views these restrictions as a catalyst for increased self-reliance within its own tech sector.
The new restrictions are expected to be part of a broader package including sanctions on over 120 Chinese firms and new limitations on various types of chip equipment. This package will likely exempt key allies such as Japan, the Netherlands, and South Korea from some of these measures. Additionally, the US has reportedly urged South Korea to implement similar controls on chip technology exports to China and has pressured Japan and the Netherlands to prevent their semiconductor equipment companies from servicing restricted equipment in China.
The US also plans to tighten the criteria for advanced dynamic random access memory (DRAM), impacting memory chip technology as a whole. This is intended to hinder Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. (CXMT) from progressing in its HBM2 production capabilities.
As the US develops these new restrictions, it is also considering a “zero de-minimis” rule, which would impose stricter controls on any products containing US technology, with exemptions for a select group of allied countries. Meanwhile, Huawei Technologies Co. is promoting its Ascend AI chips as a substitute for those from Nvidia and AMD, but the source of the HBM used in these chips remains unclear.
