Taiwan joined a yearslong U.S. campaign to curtail China¡¯s technological ascent when it blacklisted the country¡¯s AI and chipmaking champions, an unprecedented step that may signal a resurgent effort to isolate its powerful neighbor¡¯s semiconductor sector.
Taipei this month added Huawei Technologies and China's main chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), to its entity list, barring the island¡¯s firms from doing business with the pair without a license. It was the first time Taiwanese officials have used that blacklist to sanction major Chinese firms, taking a cue from a longstanding U.S. approach of blocking access to advanced technologies.
The move also marks Taipei¡¯s first public action on semiconductor restrictions since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te pledged in April to address unspecified concerns from Washington about export controls. U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s administration has urged Taipei to take more ownership over chip restrictions on China, people familiar with the matter said, with a particular focus on the enforcement of existing curbs. They requested anonymity as they weren¡¯t authorized to speak publicly.
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