First Enforcement of US Supercomputer Sanctions... TSMC Halts Supply to Phytium

(Photo by Bloomberg)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) company, has decided not to accept new orders from Tianjin Phytium Government Technology, a Chinese supercomputer company listed on the U.S. export control blacklist, according to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 14th.

Phytium specializes in central processing unit (CPU) design. Earlier, The Washington Post (WP) reported that supercomputers made by this company were used in hypersonic missile research and development at Chinese military facilities.

Hypersonic missiles can reach speeds up to five times the speed of sound and are considered weapons capable of neutralizing missile defense systems worldwide. WP reported that Phytium, which produces semiconductors used in supercomputers for hypersonic weapons development, receives technology supplies from companies such as Cadence and Synopsys in Silicon Valley, USA, while production is handled by TSMC.

TSMC stated, "We always comply with laws and regulations and will operate according to export control rules," while Phytium did not provide any specific response to SCMP's report.

SCMP noted, "Currently, U.S. technology is necessary to design the world's most advanced chips," adding, "If supply from TSMC is cut off, Phytium will have to rely on its inventory of 7-nanometer (nm; 1 nm equals one billionth of a meter) chips." It further reported, "Although China has recently been pursuing semiconductor self-reliance, it still heavily depends on overseas chips."

(Photo by AP)

China also has a foundry company, SMIC, but it is already avoiding transactions with domestic companies like Huawei that are on the U.S. blacklist, fearing additional U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. sanctions have also impacted other Taiwanese semiconductor companies. Taiwan's Alchip, which has designed semiconductors for Phytium, saw its stock price drop by a quarter immediately after the U.S. sanctions announcement.

According to the Top 500 Supercomputer rankings by the International Supercomputer Conference, as of November last year, China possessed 214 supercomputers, nearly double the United States' 113.

Chinese IT expert William Lee told SCMP, "The U.S. and China are the two major powers in the world of supercomputers, but the U.S. leads China in semiconductors and other areas." Lee assessed, "Even if U.S. sanctions do not harm the Chinese industry directly, they could slow down China's supercomputer development pace."

Earlier, on the 8th (local time), the U.S. Department of Commerce placed seven Chinese supercomputer operating institutions and related companies on a blacklist that generally restricts transactions with the U.S., citing threats to U.S. national security.

The entities on the blacklist include Phytium, Sunway Microelectronics, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, and the National Supercomputing Centers in Jinan, Shenzhen, Wuxi, and Zhengzhou.

The U.S. Department of Commerce explained the sanctions on these seven entities as being due to their involvement in producing supercomputers used by the Chinese military, contributing to the modernization of the Chinese military and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, which run counter to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.