US Commerce Secretary: "Vigilant to Prevent Even 1 Cent from Aiding China... Unable to Mass-Produce 7nm Chips" (Comprehensive)

Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce
"Angry over Huawei phone reveal during China visit"

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced on the 19th (local time) that the final regulations on guardrails restricting companies receiving subsidies under the CHIPS and Science Act (CSA) from expanding their business operations in China will be released soon. She also expressed doubts regarding Huawei's claimed mass production capability of 7-nanometer (nm, one billionth of a meter) semiconductors.

At a hearing evaluating the semiconductor law's one-year progress held by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Secretary Raimondo stated, "We must be vigilant that not a single cent of the subsidies helps China surpass us," adding that the final guardrail regulations will be "completed within weeks." She also mentioned that companies have submitted more than 500 letters of intent for investments to receive CSA subsidies.

In March, the Commerce Department released a draft of the guardrail regulations that would prohibit companies receiving CSA subsidies from expanding their production capacity in China by more than 5% for advanced semiconductors and more than 10% for older semiconductors over the next 10 years. The draft also included provisions requiring subsidy repayment if companies engage in joint research with or enter patent licensing agreements with foreign entities of concern. However, the Commerce Department has not yet specified detailed criteria, such as whether "foreign entities of concern" are limited to Chinese companies subject to export controls.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Additionally, Secretary Raimondo expressed skepticism about Huawei's mass production capability of 7nm semiconductors. She said that during her visit to China, she was "upset" by Huawei's launch of a new smartphone equipped with advanced semiconductors and stated, "We have no evidence that China can manufacture 7nm chips at scale."

Earlier, Huawei released the 'Mate 60 Pro' smartphone at the end of last month, equipped with its self-developed 7nm semiconductor, the 'Kirin 9000s.' This sparked speculation that China might have breached U.S. semiconductor export controls and found a breakthrough toward semiconductor self-reliance. Notably, Huawei launched the smartphone conspicuously during Secretary Raimondo's visit to China, drawing global attention. The Commerce Department is currently investigating the semiconductors embedded in Huawei's smartphones and how Huawei obtained them.

Secretary Raimondo said, "I cannot comment on any specific investigation, but I promise this: whenever we find credible evidence that any company has circumvented our export controls, we will investigate." She also emphasized that the U.S. is "using every available tool" to prevent China from acquiring intellectual property necessary for developing advanced technologies that could threaten U.S. security.

Meanwhile, calls are growing within the U.S. for stronger additional measures to block China's development of advanced technologies. Opinions are emerging that not only the export of advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment, which is already banned from being imported into China, but also the export of previous-generation deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography equipment to China should be controlled.

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