March 7 (Reuters) - Chinese companies Huawei

Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp

used US technology to produce an advanced chip in

China in 2023, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with

knowledge of the matter.

SMIC used technology from California's Applied Materials Inc ( AMAT )

and Lam Research Corp ( LRCX ) to develop an advanced

7-nanometer chip for Huawei last year, the report said on

Thursday, adding that SMIC obtained the American machinery

before the U.S. banned such sales to China in October 2022.

White House Commerce Department, Huawei, Applied Materials ( AMAT ),

Lam Research ( LRCX ) and SMIC did not immediately respond to Reuters'

requests for comment.

The United States has charted a slow course towards

depriving SMIC and Huawei of access to advanced U.S. technology.

Huawei was added to a trade restrictions list in 2019 by the

Trump administration over alleged sanctions violations. SMIC was

added to the same list in 2020 for alleged ties to the Chinese

military industrial complex. Both companies have previously

denied wrongdoing.

Last month, Reuters reported that the U.S. government

targeted SMIC and cut off its most advanced factory from more

American imports after it produced the chip for Huawei which

powers its Mate 60 Pro phone.

The Biden administration has moved aggressively in recent

months to halt shipments to China of more advanced AI chips, as

part of its efforts to stop Beijing from receiving cutting-edge

U.S. technologies that could strengthen its military.