On Monday, the US Department of Commerce said the Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Company would not be able to buy components to US companies without a special license.
The export ban was put in place because Fujian Jinhua "poses a significant risk of being involved in activities contrary to the US's national security interests," said the spokesman. # 39; agency.
"When a foreign company embarks on activities contrary to our national security interests, we will take strong action to protect our national security," Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement.
According to Ross, the ban will limit the company's ability to "threaten the supply chain with critical components of our military systems."
This decision comes as the United States and China are grappling with a stalemate on trade, market access and the transfer of technological secrets. This could add to an already tense bilateral relationship. The negotiations would have ended before the scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the next G20 summit in Argentina.
Earlier this year, the Trump government imposed an export ban on ZTE, one of China's largest technology companies. The agency said ZTE (ZTCOF) had lied to US authorities to punish employees who violated US sanctions against North Korea and Iran. The ban, which became a hotspot between the two nations, was lifted in July after ZTE paid a fine of $ 1 billion and agreed to take surveillance measures.
The Commerce Department's action comes after Micron Technology, an Idaho-based memory chip maker, accused Fujian Jinhua of stealing its trade secrets in a federal lawsuit last December. Fujian Jinhua filed a lawsuit against Micron in a Chinese court in January.
Fujian Jinhua, based in Fujian Province, east China, was founded in 2016 and receives financial support from the provincial government, according to Chinese official media. He is building a $ 5.7 billion chip plant in the area.
