The US chip giants lobby the government to "stop"

Faced with the possibility of further tightening restrictions on chip exports to China, the US chip industry is joining forces to launch an offensive against the Biden administration.

According to Reuters, on July 17, executives of American chip giants gathered in Washington to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior officials of Biden's government to discuss restrictions on semiconductor exports to China.

On the same day, the Semiconductor Industry Association, the most influential semiconductor lobby group in the United States, urged the government to stop implementing more restrictions on chip exports to China.

The public opinion believes that from chip giants to industry associations, the US chip industry is taking joint action, hoping to make final efforts during the window period of slowing Sino US relations before the Biden government upgrades its restrictions, in order to prevent the Biden government from continuing to take the step of "backbiting the United States".

Joint action of the three giants

According to the US State Department and insiders, chief executives (CEOs) of Intel, Qualcomm, Nvidia and other US chip companies attended the meeting on the 17th. Senior government officials attending the talks included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Commerce Remondo, Director of the National Economic Commission of the White House Brenner, and National Security Assistant Sullivan of the President.

Spokesperson for the United States Department of State Miller confirmed the news at the press conference. Miller said that Antony Blinken tried to share his views on the chip industry and supply chain issues, especially after his recent visit to China. Antony Blinken also directly listened to the opinions of these companies on supply chain issues and business in China.

A spokesman of the United States Department of Commerce said that Antony Blinken also discussed China's recent restrictions on the export of gallium, germanium and other chip manufacturing raw materials during his talks with the CEO of the chip company.

Insiders added that Biden government officials are also concerned about China's access to the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

During the discussion, chip company executives made several demands, including accelerating the payment of government funds allocated for semiconductor companies under the Chip and Science Act, to ensure that government policies do not exclude chip companies from the lucrative Chinese market.

According to insiders, the three major chip giants oppose tightening export controls on chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China.

On the same day, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) also issued a statement warning that restrictions on chip sales to China may backfire on the United States itself.

The most influential chip industry organization in the United States called on the Biden administration to avoid further restrictions on chip exports to China in a statement, stating that this move may harm a large amount of new investment in the domestic chip manufacturing sector in the United States. The statement pointed out that the restrictive measures taken by the White House are too broad, vague, and sometimes unilateral, which may weaken the competitiveness of the U.S. Semiconductor industry, disrupt the supply chain, cause major market uncertainty, and trigger China's continuous escalation of retaliation.

SIA also urged the Biden administration to allow the US chip industry to continue entering the Chinese market. The statement emphasizes that China is the world's largest commercial semiconductor market.