Samsung Denies Rumors It Will Stop Making Chips for Chinese Companies

When it comes to curbing China’s technological advancement, the US government has demonstrated an enviable continuity of approach even after a change of president. Against this backdrop, it was surprising to hear Samsung Electronics officials say that the company’s contract division has not stopped serving Chinese customers.

Image Source: Samsung Electronics

On the pages of the popular Chinese social network WeChat, the semiconductor division of Samsung denied rumors that it has stopped servicing local clients who order the production of chips of its own design. According to Samsung representatives, interaction with Chinese chip developers in the sphere of their contract manufacturing is carried out as usual. At the same time, Samsung did not specify which clients are in question or what kind of cooperation with them is.

Taiwan’s TSMC stopped serving Chinese customers late last year, prompting speculation that Samsung might follow suit. Of Samsung’s customers in China, Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics has responded by confirming that it will continue to maintain its relationship with the South Korean contractor. As the South China Morning Post explains, China’s political leadership held a meeting with leading foreign companies doing business in China in late March. Xi Jinping is believed to have personally met with the heads of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which still make most of their memory in China. US authorities had previously exempted them from certain restrictions that were imposed on most companies doing business in China using US technology and equipment.

Incidentally, it is reported that the executive vice president of the American Micron Technology, Mark Murphy, recently visited the company’s plant in Xi’an, China, where he held a meeting with local authorities, at which he was assured of the readiness to provide all kinds of support to the business of this memory manufacturer. Incidentally, Micron is subject to Chinese sanctions that do not allow the use of this brand of memory in computer systems that form the critical infrastructure of the PRC. This did not prevent the Chinese authorities from stating that Micron, based on the results of last year, turned out to be the largest exporter of products from the province of Shaanxi, where the company’s plant is located.