During an interview with National Public Radio on April 26, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken clarified that the purpose of the strict export controls over advanced computer chips to China is not to harm the Chinese economy or their technological development. The US has been imposing these controls since 2022, affecting sales from companies like Nvidia, AMD, and Intel, following a previous ban on chip shipments to Huawei Technologies.
Despite this, the US has granted at least two licenses to Intel and Qualcomm to continue selling chips to Huawei. However, some Republican Party Congressmen have raised concerns about the use of these chips in new laptop models produced by Huawei. Blinken emphasized that these exceptions were made based on national security concerns and were not intended to hinder China’s technology development.
The licenses granted to Intel and Qualcomm were authorized during the Trump administration and remain in effect under President Biden. It is worth noting that competitors like AMD and MediaTek did not receive similar exceptions, raising questions as to why these decisions were made by both administrations. Blinken’s comments during his visit to Beijing sought to reassure China that the US’s focus is on security concerns and not on restricting trade with China.