US adds seven Chinese supercomputing organisations onto Entity List

In another move aimed at restricting the development of Chinese technology, the US Commerce Department has added seven Chinese supercomputing entities to its Entity List for allegedly supporting China’s military efforts.

The newly added entities that are companies include the Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, Sunway Microelectronics, Tianjin Phytium Information Technology. The remaining organisations are the National Supercomputing Centers in Jinan, Shenzhen, WuXi, and Zhengzhou.

Companies placed on the Entity List are banned from buying parts and components from US companies without government approval.

According to the department, these entities are involved with building supercomputers used as part of China’s military efforts to destabilise military modernisation efforts and build weapons of mass destruction programs.

“Supercomputing capabilities are vital for the development of many — perhaps almost all — modern weapons and national security systems, such as nuclear weapons and hypersonic weapons. The Department of Commerce will use the full extent of its authorities to prevent China from leveraging US technologies to support these destabilising military modernisation efforts,” US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.

The newest Entity List additions are the latest among many that the US has made against Chinese businesses, including Huawei, which was placed on the Entity List almost two years ago.

In the past year, the US has added Chinese chipmaker SMIC, drone company DJI Technology, and a bevy of other Chinese-based technology companies to the list.

The reasons for doling out these restrictions have ranged from preventing China’s alleged efforts of destabilising military activities, to standing up against the repression of Uyghur Muslims and other Muslim ethnic minorities within China, to spying.

In addition to placing various Chinese companies on the Entity List, the US government has also enforced other restrictions onto Chinese technology companies by labelling them as national security threats or Communist Chinese military companies (CCMC).

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