The US government has imposed export restrictions on Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International, Reuters reported on Saturday.
The US government imposed the export restrictions on China's largest chip maker because the US side believes there is a risk that equipment exported to SMIC could be used for military purposes, and that this risk is "unacceptable".
That also makes SMIC the second top Chinese tech company, after Huawei, to be hit by US trade restrictions.
SMIC said in a statement on Sunday thatย so far the company has received no such official information.
According to a letter sent by the US Commerce Department on Friday cited by Reuters, the US government's export restrictions include SMIC's subsidiaries and joint ventures in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Ningbo and even Italy.
Any supplier affected by the restrictions would have to apply for an export license from the US government to continue supplying SMIC.
However, it's no surprise that SMIC would be subject to such a crackdown by the US government.
Back in early September, the US Pentagon had previewed the matter, saying the US side was considering pulling SMIC into the US export blacklist, citing the risk that the company's civilian chips could be used in the military.
But SMIC said in a statement that they are not affiliated with the Chinese military and will not produce any products for military needs.
The company also said they have not received any official notification from the US government regarding this export restriction.
Trump administration reportedly considers blacklisting Chinese chipmaker SMIC
More on Tech Industry
