In an interview with National Public Radio on April 26, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the ongoing export controls over advanced computer chips to China and their impact on the country’s economy and technological development. He clarified that these controls are not intended to harm China but rather are in place to protect national security concerns.
Since 2022, the US has implemented strict export controls on computer chips to China, affecting sales from companies like Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. However, despite these controls, the US has granted at least two licenses to Intel and Qualcomm to continue shipping chips to Huawei Technologies. While this move has raised concerns among some Republican Party Congressmen, Blinken emphasized that these exceptions are based solely on national security concerns and do not impede China’s technology development.
Blinken also noted that 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.