US lawmakers eye China technology as they target semiconductor equipment makers

Washington lawmakers are going after firms that make equipment for semiconductor manufacturing as the Joe Biden administration mulls more export controls to restrict China’s hi-tech advances.

On Thursday, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House select committee on China sent letters to five American, Dutch and Japanese companies, requesting detailed information about the companies’ sales volume and customer base on the mainland and highlighting national-security concerns over China’s technological development.

Chinese purchases of chips manufacturing equipment will “not only help the PRC supply chips to Russia’s war machine but also threaten its neighbours, including Taiwan, as the PRC will feel less constrained by the threat of American sanctions”, said John Moolenaar, the Michigan Republican chairing the committee, and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, the Democratic ranking member.

“It will also allow the PRC to continue to progress in critical fields such as artificial intelligence, which are at the very heart of the strategic competition between the United States and the PRC,” they wrote.

Information from the companies would help the committee understand the flow of chipmaking equipment to China and its role in developing the country’s chip manufacturing base, the lawmakers said.

The targeted firms include three US-based companies – Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA – as well as Netherlands-based ASML and Japanese firm Tokyo Electron.