US adds Chinese supercomputing entities to economic blacklist

China US flags cropped
(Image credit: Medium)

The U.S. Commerce Department has extended its economic blacklist of Chinese firms by adding seven supercomputing organizations that it alleges are assisting Chinese military efforts.

Non-US companies need approval from the US Commerce Department before they can receive items from US-based suppliers. 

The Commerce Department accused the seven supercomputing firms were building supercomputers that were used by China’s aggressive military actors, even perhaps for their weapons of mass destruction programs.

Weapons of supercomputing

A Chinese draft economic blueprint last month called for Chinese legislators to allocate more budget to companies in seven identified areas including Artificial Intelligence (AI), and quantum computing, which it deemed pertained to “national security and overall development.”

During the previous Trump administration, the US added several dozen Chinese companies to its economic blacklist including the Shenzhen-headquartered hardware giant Huawei, partially state-owned semiconductor major SMIC, and DJI, one of the world’s largest drone makers. 

According to reports, the department has now added Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, Sunway Microelectronics, the National Supercomputing Center Jinan, the National Supercomputing Center Shenzhen, the National Supercomputing Center Wuxi, and the National Supercomputing Center Zhengzhou to its blacklist.

Reacting to the addition of the supercomputing firms to the ban list, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, at a daily news conference in Beijing, said “U.S. containment and suppression cannot hold back the march of China’s scientific and technological development.”

Lijian added that the Chinese government will take “necessary measures” to protect the rights and interests of its companies.

Via: Reuters

Mayank Sharma

With almost two decades of writing and reporting on Linux, Mayank Sharma would like everyone to think he’s TechRadar Pro’s expert on the topic. Of course, he’s just as interested in other computing topics, particularly cybersecurity, cloud, containers, and coding.

Read more
Flag of the People's Republic of China overlaid with a technological network of wires and circuits.
US government removes Chinese chip giant AMEC from major blacklist
Microsoft
Microsoft warns Trump against ‘strategic misstep’ in AI race
Microchip on a motherboard with Flag of China and USA. Concept for the battle of global microchips production.
Nvidia says latest US restrictions on China AI chips will ‘stifle competition’
Microchip on a motherboard with Flag of China and USA. Concept for the battle of global microchips production.
US ups pressure on Tencent by designating it a Chinese military company
Microchip on a motherboard with Flag of China and USA. Concept for the battle of global microchips production.
Google, Nvidia and Intel could all see new China antitrust cases
IT
US government says companies are no longer allowed to send bulk data to these nations
Latest in Pro
Google DeepMind panel discussion
“More sovereignty and protection” - Google goes all-in on UK AI with data residency, upskilling projects, and startup investments
A graphic showing someone on a tablet working through a supply chain.
Security issue in open source software leaves businesses concerned for systems
European Union technical background
EU tech companies push for digital sovereignty, reducing reliance on US and others
ransomware avast
One of the most powerful ransomware hacks around has been cracked using some serious GPU power
person at a computer
Infamous ransomware hackers reveal new tool to brute-force VPNs
Adobe Summit 2025
Adobe Summit 2025 - all the news and updates as it happens
Latest in News
Panos Panay and Alexa Plus
Amazon's Panos Panay teases future Alexa+ devices from speakers to possible wearables
Metroid Prime 4
I reckon the Nintendo Switch 2 could launch with Metroid Prime 4 – here’s why
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
New rumors predict a foldable iPhone will launch next year – and cost almost twice as much as the iPhone 16 Pro Max
Pebble smartwatch countdown
Pebble confirms its smartwatch announcement is just hours away
Logo of YouTube Shorts
Is YouTube auto-playing Shorts when you open the app? Well, you’re not alone - here’s how to fix it
Google DeepMind panel discussion
“More sovereignty and protection” - Google goes all-in on UK AI with data residency, upskilling projects, and startup investments