The United States has imposed export restrictions on 70 companies, including several from Pakistan and China, citing national security and foreign policy concerns. Under the new restrictions, American companies are now barred from doing business with these entities without obtaining a special license, which is likely to be denied.
Among the affected firms are six subsidiaries of China’s leading cloud computing and big data company, Inspur Group. These subsidiaries, five of which are based in China and one in Taiwan, were blacklisted for allegedly contributing to the development of supercomputers for the Chinese military. Inspur Group itself was already placed on the Commerce Department’s Entity List in 2023.
In total, around 80 organizations and research institutes have been added to the list, with over 50 based in China, while others are all belonging from Pakistan, Iran, Taiwan, South Africa, and the UAE. The move is part of the U.S. government’s broader strategy to curb China’s advancements in high-performance computing, quantum technology, AI, and hypersonic weapons.
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US Justifies the Decision; China Condemns the Move
“We will not permit adversaries to exploit American technology to strengthen their own militaries and threaten American lives,” claimed U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, reinforcing the stance of the administration on preventing China from getting any access to cutting-edge technologies.
China has strongly condemned the move, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry pledging to take all the relevant steps to secure the legitimate rights of its companies. The Chinese embassy in Washington also criticized the decision, urging the U.S. to inhibit politicizing and weaponizing trade and technology issues.
Broader Impact and Industry Response
The U.S. government’s actions also extend to Iran, aiming to disrupt Tehran’s procurement of drones, defense technologies, and nuclear-related materials.
The new restrictions are considered to be part of Washington’s efforts to counteract the development of ballistic missiles and other military programs.
Commerce Department official Jeffrey Kessler keeps on claiming that the administration is committed to preventing U.S. technologies from being misused for military applications, including high-performance computing, hypersonic missiles, and drone warfare.
Meanwhile, the restrictions on Inspur Group have raised concerns within the global chip industry. When the organization was first listed in 2023, major chipmakers like AMD and Nvidia encountered scrutiny over their business dealings with Inspur. While it remains unclear whether U.S. firms are still supplying its subsidiaries, Nvidia declined to comment, and AMD did not respond to inquiries.
Other Chinese organizations affected include Nettrix Information Industry Co, Suma Technology Co, and Suma-USI Electronics, all highly accused of helping China’s development of exascale supercomputers—high-powered machines capable of processing massive amounts of data for military and research purposes.
Furthermore, organizations added to the list were flagged for assisting Huawei—China’s telecom and AI giant—to obtain restricted U.S.-origin technology. The Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI), another entity targeted in the latest restrictions, has shown shock over the decision and urged U.S. authorities to reconsider their stance.
The tensions between the U.S. and China continue to appear on the surface over technology and trade, these new restrictions are giving signals for a further escalation in their continuous economic and strategic rivalry.