China declares US chips ‘unsafe’

China’s four leading industry associations almost simultaneously recommended that Chinese companies stop purchasing chips from the United States because they are “no longer safe.” The associations cover China’s largest industries, including telecommunications, digital economy, automotive and semiconductors, and have a total of 6,400 members.

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The statements by Chinese industrialists’ associations were a response to increasing US sanctions. Their recommendations could affect US chipmakers such as Nvidia, AMD and Intel, which continue to sell their products in the Chinese market despite export controls. The associations did not provide more detailed information or evidence about the “unsafety” of semiconductor products from the United States.

The Internet Society of China (ISC) on its official Wechat account urged domestic companies to think carefully before purchasing American chips and seek to expand cooperation with chip manufacturing firms from countries and regions other than the United States. The ISC believes that US export controls have caused “substantial harm” to the development of China’s Internet industry, so Chinese companies should “proactively” use chips made in China.

The China Communications Enterprises Association said it no longer considered American chips reliable or secure and recommended that the Chinese government review the security of the country’s critical information infrastructure supply chain. The warnings come after another round of US sanctions restricting semiconductor exports to 140 companies, including chip equipment maker Naura Technology Group.

Analysts believe the new US sanctions are a response to last year’s Chinese cybersecurity audits of memory chip maker Micron. China later banned the supply of Micron chips to key industries altogether, reducing the company’s revenue by a double-digit percentage.

Intel has also come under scrutiny. In October, an influential industry group, the China Cybersecurity Association, called for a review of Intel’s products, saying the U.S. chipmaker was “consistently harming” the country’s national security and interests.

Recently, Chinese authorities completely banned the supply of gallium, germanium and antimony compounds to the United States, which can be used in the production of weapons systems. Graphite supplies from China to the United States will be subject to additional control, since this material can also be used in the military sphere.

Chips from the US are “no longer safe” to buy, Chinese industry groups say. Such statements could further increase tensions between the US and China.