Micron Technology's products have just been banned in the country of China for the use in some of its infrastructure projects. That country's Cyberspace Administration claims that the US-based company's products have major security risks. It's the first time that China has banned a US-based chipmaker.
In March, the Cyberspace Administration announced it was going to review Micron's chips for alleged cybersecurity threats. In today's statement, the CAC said it had finished its review. It stated:
The review found that Micron's products have serious network security risks, which pose significant security risks to China's critical information infrastructure supply chain, affecting China's national security.
The statement did not offer any more details on the specific security risks the CAC claimed were posed by Micron's chips. It also didn't identify any specific Micron products that were allegedly causing these security issues.
The BBC received a statement from Micron, stating that it had reviewed the CAC's comments. It said:
We are evaluating the conclusion and assessing our next steps. We look forward to continuing to engage in discussions with Chinese authorities.
The response to the ban by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was more direct. She told the Wall Street Journal, "We firmly oppose restrictions that have no basis in fact."
Today's ban is just the latest chess move between the US and China over microchip manufacturing and exports. The US has already moved to ban China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) from exporting fabrication equipment to make certain chips in that country.
The US has also blacklisted a number of Chinese-made chips from being used in the US. That includes Yangtze Memory, which is considered a major rival to Micron and was blacklisted by the US in December 2022. It would appear there's no end in sight for this current cold technology war between the US and China.
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