US blacklists seven Chinese supercomputing companies over national security

The U.S. on Thursday (Apr. 8) announced it has added seven Chinese supercomputing companies to its "entity list" of export controls.

Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, Sunway Microelectronics, the National Supercomputing Center Jinan, the National Supercomputing Center Shenzhen, the National Supercomputing Center Wuxi, and the National Supercomputing Center Zhengzhou were added to the entity list, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, due to their so-called involvement in "building supercomputers used by China's military actors."

In a statement, the U.S. Department of Commerce said the companies conducted activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the U.S.

China has repeatedly voiced opposition to the U.S. crackdown on Chinese firms over a national security threat.

Last December, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, urged the U.S. to stop the unjustified crackdown on Chinese enterprises, saying, "It seriously interferes with the regular scientific and technological exchanges and trade between the two countries and will cause damage to global production, supply and value chains."

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) also firmly opposed the U.S. adding 59 Chinese entities to the export control list. "The U.S. has once again wielded its state power to suppress Chinese companies. We will resort to indispensable measures to protect Chinese companies' legitimate rights and interests," said MOFCOM.

"More efforts should be made by the U.S. side to beef up China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation and spur on global economic recovery," the ministry said.

The "entity list" was created in February 1997 and affects a host of businesses, research institutions, and individuals subject to license requirements for the export, re-export, and transfer of certain items to the country.

Strained China-U.S. relations in recent years have put loads of Chinese tech companies, such as the likes of Huawei and Hikvision, on the blacklist.

(Source: CGTN)