由 jpichiban 拜登政府正在努力克服來自盟友和科技行業的反對，準備擴大限制中國製造最先進半導體的能力。新的規定將限制使用美國部件或技術製造、可用於製造晶片的機器和軟體從一些國家運往中國，該限制還適用於某些類型的半導體。美國一直在推動盟國加強對中國的技術運輸限制，但美國和其他國家的產業界認為，這些規定可能會損害他們的利益。一些分析人士對美國能否成功說服盟友持懷疑態度，他們認為這些規定可能損害盟友的商業利益。美國政府則表示，他們正在不斷更新出口管制措施，以保護美國的國家安全。
Original Title: U.S. Seeks to Tighten Chip Restrictions on China, but Must First Persuade Allies and Tech Industry
Summary: The Biden administration is working to overcome opposition from allies and the tech industry as it prepares to broaden restrictions aimed at slowing China’s ability to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors, which can be used to bolster its military capabilities. The U.S. government has drafted new rules that would restrict the shipment of machines and software used to make chips, and some types of chips themselves, from several countries to China, if they are made with American components or technology, according to people who have seen or been briefed on the draft. The rules are designed to plug new avenues that Chinese chipmakers have used to obtain technology in defiance of international restrictions. The U.S. has been pushing its allies, including Japan and the Netherlands, to strengthen tech export restrictions to China, during visits and during a state visit to Washington by the Japanese prime minister in April. Those countries are home to companies that make chipmaking equipment, such as ASML and Tokyo Electron Ltd. But the U.S. and other countries’ industries argue that the rules could harm their interests, and it is unclear when or if foreign governments will impose the restrictions. Meanwhile, the U.S. is planning to carve out significant exceptions to some of the rules it plans to impose. The restrictions on sending equipment to certain Chinese semiconductor factories would not apply to more than 30 allied countries, including the Netherlands, South Korea and Japan. That has drawn opposition from U.S. companies, which argue that they will be at a competitive disadvantage if the U.S. government blocks their sales but not those of their competitors. U.S. officials say talks are ongoing and they still hope to persuade Japan and other countries to strengthen restrictions. But some analysts are skeptical about whether they will succeed. “While U.S. allies are increasingly wary of the threat from China, they are more willing to accept rules that restrict only the most advanced technology,” said Emily Kilcrease, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “The broader the controls, the more commercially damaging they are.” Kilcrease said that U.S. companies are also “unhappy” that the U.S. is restricting their business but not their competitors in allied countries. Gregory Allen, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that countries such as South Korea are making significant updates to their export control rules under pressure from the U.S. “I think they’ve made a lot of progress,” he said. “My question always is whether they’re making enough progress to counter China’s countermeasures.” A Commerce Department spokesman said that the agency is constantly updating its export controls to protect U.S. national security and that it will continue to work closely with its allies. A representative for China’s Ministry of Commerce said that the U.S. is abusing export controls and that China hopes other countries will resist U.S. economic coercion. The details of the policy are still fluid and could change. But the rules, which could be announced as early as this month, are clearly intended to toughen previous measures aimed at limiting China’s ability to develop the most advanced artificial intelligence chips. While most advanced chips are used in consumer devices, some can also be used to develop weapons, carry out cyberattacks and build surveillance systems. The U.S. government has already blocked exports of technology from the United States to China, but a key part of the Biden administration’s strategy is to get other countries to adopt similar regulations. If other countries do not do so, China could still obtain significant technology from elsewhere, while U.S. companies would only lose sales opportunities. It could also encourage countries to move away from using American components, thus avoiding the need to comply with U.S. rules. U.S. officials have been trying to get Japan and the Netherlands to impose tougher restrictions on specific Chinese companies and to change their laws to prevent their citizens from repairing equipment at Chinese chip factories. Efforts to get allies to block chip technology from reaching China began under the Trump administration, when the Netherlands agreed to stop shipping ASML’s most advanced machines to China. Two years ago, the U.S. imposed a global ban on advanced chip shipments to China, as well as a ban on American companies like Applied Materials Inc., Lam Research Corp. and KLA Corp. from exporting chipmaking machines from the U.S. to China. Last year, the Netherlands and Japan agreed to impose restrictions on the shipment of some of the most advanced machines to China, and the U.S. further tightened its own rules, including halting shipments of additional equipment from ASML and Tokyo Electron to China. Despite these measures, the Chinese chip industry continues to make progress. Last year, Huawei launched a phone with an advanced chip, a move widely seen as a challenge. The Biden administration has been working to formulate stricter rules since then. The draft rules list around 120 Chinese companies on what is known as the Entity List, requiring other companies to obtain special licenses to ship products to them from the U.S. The list focuses on chipmaking companies, chipmaking equipment companies, and companies that support related products and services. Several Chinese chip factories, which are alleged to be collaborating with Huawei, including Shenzhen Shengwei Xuhui, Shenzhen Pengxin Xuhui, Shenzhen Pengxin Micro and Qingdao Xin’en, are also subject to international restrictions, which restrict the shipment of equipment made with American components or technology from certain countries. The list does not include Changxin Storage, a major Chinese memory chipmaker that was previously rumored to be a target. There are also rules that limit shipments of memory chips, which are critical for training artificial intelligence models. The U.S. government has been considering lowering restrictions on AI chips manufactured by Nvidia and other companies, but it is unclear whether these lower thresholds will be included. Reuters and Bloomberg previously reported details of the rules. KLA declined to comment and Applied Materials declined to comment, while Lam Research did not respond to a request for comment. The revised policy would make it more difficult for U.S. companies to circumvent restrictions by shipping chips to China through subsidiaries in countries such as Israel, Malaysia and Singapore. But other countries, such as Taiwan, have seen their shipments to China surge. ASML said last month that China sales accounted for nearly half of its revenue in the first quarter. Tokyo Electron said the impact of export controls was “less than expected” because the company had increased sales of less advanced equipment to China. Analysts say that networks of distributors and brokers have sprung up to funnel technology to restricted Chinese semiconductor factories. U.S. companies also suspect that foreign technicians are helping China maintain American machines previously sold to Chinese factories. Foreign partners, according to people familiar with the matter, are skeptical of the U.S. national security argument and concerned about retaliation from China and lost sales. Japanese officials did not respond to requests for comment. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it remained in close contact with its partners, and that countries should assess their export controls themselves. Paul Triolo, a partner at Albright Stonebridge Group, said that the rules were “trying to avoid a direct confrontation.” “Nobody wants to throw their weight around with their allies,” he said. However, the impact of export controls on U.S. industries is “quite severe,” he said. “There’s a lot of unhappiness, but the Biden administration has largely ignored it,” he said. Katie Rogers contributed research to this article.
Original article: https://cn.nytimes.com/business/20240812/china-us-chip-semiconductors/zh-hant/?utm_source=RSS