The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has responded by adding 80 such organizations to its “entity list.” This major action represents the first serious attempt to limit the flow of high-end technology to China. This major new development, which was just announced last week, prohibits American companies from selling them materials unless they first receive a federal government permit. Most strikingly, more than 50 of the newly delisted entities are from China, a sign of increasing hostility between the United States and China.
The entity list has deepened into a geopolitical battering ram since the Trump administration broadened it. Its aim is to prevent China from advancing in the field of artificial intelligence and advanced computing. The U.S. Commerce Department emphasized that the additions "cast an ever-widening net aimed at third countries, transit points, and intermediaries." This new approach is a belated effort to end the diversion, often unwitting, of promising dual-use technologies to actors that could use developments to bolster dangerous military capabilities.
"Cast an ever-widening net aimed at third countries, transit points and intermediaries," said Alex Capri, a senior lecturer at National University of Singapore and author of "Techno-Nationalism: How it's reshaping trade, geopolitics and society."
This time it’s companies charged with developing next-generation AI technologies and building supercomputers. They are working on specialized high-performance AI chips meant for military use. On top of that, two additional companies have been named for providing equipment to sanctioned companies including Huawei and its chipmaking subsidiary HiSilicon. The list further narrows its scope to seven companies directly facilitating China’s development of advanced quantum technology.
The entity list was recently set up for this purpose, to deny Beijing access to exascale computing technologies and quantum breakthroughs. In all, 27 different Chinese entities were identified for purchasing U.S.-origin goods with which to further the modernization and militarization of China. In addition, six other subsidiaries of the Chinese cloud-computing company Inspur Group are on the list.
"The entity list is one of many powerful tools at our disposal to identify and cut off foreign adversaries seeking to exploit American technology for malign purposes," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey I. Kessler.
That expansion is taking place amid deepening tensions between the U.S. and China, including over Taiwan. The Trump administration is exacerbating these tensions with its increasing tariffs on Chinese goods. The entity list in itself fits into a larger policy of keeping American technologies from enabling China’s military goals.