UPDATES HEADLINE, LEDE; ADDS OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY US SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
By Ovunc Kutlu
ANKARA (AA) - The US government on Friday added the top Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) to its blacklist, denying it access to US technology.
"We will not allow advanced US technology to help build the military of an increasingly belligerent adversary," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.
While more than 60 companies, of which majority are Chinese, were added to the blacklist due to reasons of national security, Ross argued that SMIC is an example of "China’s leverage of US technology to support its military modernization."
The blacklist aims to limit SMIC’s ability to acquire certain US technology by requiring American exporters to apply for a license to sell to the Chinese company.
Washington also aims to break the close relation between SMIC and China's military-industrial-technology complex, and companies involved in it.
"These are companies that are tied to the People's Liberation Army," Ross earlier told Fox Business, saying: "This has to do with their access to very advanced semiconductor products."
The blacklist will "ensure that China, through its national champion SMIC, is not able to leverage US technologies to enable indigenous advanced technology levels to support its destabilizing military activities," Ross added.
The list already includes approximately 700 firms, with 296 of them Chinese such as Huawei, while 150 other are related to Huawei.
SMIC is China's biggest microchip manufacturer and a major supplier to tech companies, including Qualcomm and Broadcom that are active in mobile communications and 5G technology.
Since US President Donald Trump has engaged in a trade conflict with China, intellectual property rights, 5G communication and technology transfer have been key but unresolved topics between Washington and Beijing.
China categorically denies all espionage allegations against its companies and invites US to cultivate dialogue rather than confrontation.