China's Cyberspace Administration has announced that it will conduct a cybersecurity review of products sold in the country by U.S. chip manufacturing company - Micron Technology. The move comes amid ongoing tensions between the two countries over chip technology and manufacturing.
The review is aimed at protecting the security of the supply chain for critical information infrastructure, preventing hidden risks, and safeguarding national security. While no details have been given as to which Micron products will be reviewed, the U.S. company derives around 10% of its revenue from China alone.
This follows the U.S. imposing a series of export controls on chipmaking technology to China. The United States has also blacklisted several Chinese chip firms, including Micron rival, Yangtze Memory Technologies. Japan had also announced that it would align its technology trade controls with the U.S.' push to curb China's ability to produce advanced chips, and the Netherlands also made a similar announcement in March. As a result, China also made changes to its internal policies to push domestic chip manufacturing capabilities.
Analysts have warned that punitive action against Micron could suggest a broader shift in Chinese policy towards other U.S. vendors with significant exposure to China. Micron shares fell 3% to $61.15 on Friday, and it is still unclear whether the review will affect the company's sales to non-Chinese customers in the country. Most of Micron's products sold in China are bought by non-Chinese firms for use in products manufactured in the country. Micron has its offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen. It also has a chip packaging facility in Xian, but earlier this year announced it would shut its DRAM design operations in Shanghai.
Source: Reuters
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