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Taiwan adds Chinese tech champions to export control list

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Taiwan says move is based on national security

considerations

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Taiwan already has tight chip export controls for China

TAIPEI, June 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan has added China's

Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing

International Corp (SMIC) to its export control list,

which includes other proscribed organisations like the Taliban

and al Qaeda.

Inclusion on the economy ministry's trade administration's

strategic high-tech commodities entity list means Taiwanese

companies will need government approval before exporting any

products to the companies.

The companies, both at the centre of China's chip and

artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions, were included in an

updated version of the ministry's trade administration's

website. Neither company responded to requests for comment

outside of office hours at the weekend.

In a statement on Sunday, the ministry's trade

administration said it had recently held a meeting to review the

entity list, and "based on the prevention of arms proliferation

and other national security considerations" updated it on June

10.

A total of 601 entities were added, including Huawei and

SMIC, along with entities from Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Myanmar,

and China, it said.

"Manufacturers must comply with export control regulations,

fulfil their verification obligations and carefully assess

transaction risks," it added.

Taiwan is home to TSMC, the world's largest

contract chipmaker and a major supplier of chips to AI darling

Nvidia ( NVDA ). Both Huawei and SMIC have been working hard to

catch up in the chip technology race.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory despite the

strong objections of Taipei's government, already has tight chip

export controls when it comes to Taiwanese companies either

manufacturing in the country or supplying Chinese firms.

Huawei is on a U.S. Commerce Department trade list that

essentially bars it from receiving U.S. goods and technology, as

well as foreign-made goods such as chips from companies like

TSMC made with U.S. technology.

Last October, TechInsights, a Canadian tech research firm,

took apart Huawei's 910B AI processor and found a TSMC chip in

it. The multi-chip 910B is viewed as the most advanced AI

accelerator mass-produced by a Chinese company.

TSMC suspended shipments to China-based chip designer

Sophgo, whose chip matched the one in the Huawei 910B and, in

November the U.S. Commerce Department ordered TSMC to halt

shipments of more chips to Chinese customers.

Taiwan's government has also repeatedly vowed to crack down

on what it says are efforts by Chinese companies, including

SMIC, to steal technology and entice chip talent away from the

island.

SMIC is China's largest chipmaker and has ramped up

investment to expand production capacity and strengthen China's

domestic semiconductor capability in the face of sweeping U.S.

export controls.