US blacklists seven Chinese supercomputing groups linked to military
The US has blacklisted seven Chinese groups which it accuses of building supercomputers to help its military.
The move will bar American firms from exporting technology to the groups without approval, making it harder for China to obtain US technology.
The US commerce department said the groups were building supercomputers used by Chinese “military actors” and developing weapons of mass destruction.
The blacklisted groups are leading China’s supercomputing development and are key players in Beijing’s plan for chip self-sufficiency.
The Biden administration will use “the full extent of its authorities to prevent China from leveraging US technologies to support these destabilising military modernisation efforts”, according to commerce secretary Gina Raimondo.
Biden’s move requires the seven Chinese groups to obtain licences to access American technologies, including chip infrastructures.
While the blacklist bars US-based firms from providing services to the Chinese companies, it does not stop those that are produced in facilities outside of the US.