The mistrust that strains the US and China is the seed of the conflict that they have had for more than five years in the field of the chip industry. During the last years we have witnessed very rigorous prohibitions by both countries that pursued prevent the use of some chips and suspicious rival devices in public administrations, critical infrastructures and strategic facilities. The most notable step forward was taken by the US in 2018 by sanctioning ZTE first and then Huawei.
The Donald Trump Administration decided to veto the telecommunications equipment of these two Chinese companies, but this was not the only thing it did; He also urged his allies to do the same. China took a similar step, albeit five years later. And at the end of March 2023, an investigation began to determine whether the memories of Micron Technology, which is the largest American manufacturer of DRAM chips, represented a threat to the interests of the Chinese Government.
The Chinese Government distrusts Intel and AMD chips
At the end of last March, the Chinese Administration took another step forward and decided to prohibit the use of processors manufactured by Intel and AMD in computers used by the Government and the Administration in a clear sign of distrust. However, Xi Jinping's government has not stopped there. Earlier this year he asked Chinese telecommunications operators to get rid of Intel and AMD integrated circuits that were installed in their communications equipment. They had until 2027.
Cutting-edge chips from Intel and AMD are present in most telecommunications equipment spread throughout the planet
However, now the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has decided to accelerate this process with the aim of eradicating foreign integrated circuits from its telecommunications equipment as soon as possible. In fact, operators have to inspect their networks to locate all chips that have not been manufactured in China and replace them with native integrated circuits.
Not all of those foreign semiconductors have been produced by Intel and AMD, but according to The Wall Street Journal the cutting-edge chips of these two companies They are the most difficult to replaceso they are present in most of the telecommunications equipment spread throughout the planet.
For the moment, despite the catharsis that this movement of the Chinese Administration entails, the most absolute silence is imposed. China Mobile and China Telecom, China's two largest telecommunications operators, have not commented on this government request. And Intel and AMD have not issued any statement for the moment either.
The most reasonable question we can ask at this juncture is which Chinese chipmakers have effective alternatives to Intel and AMD CPUs. Loongson is presumably a strong candidate, but possibly Huawei's Kunpeng CPUs They are also attractive alternatives to US processors. Even chips developed by Hygon Information Technology, which support the x86-64 architecture, may fit well in Chinese telecom equipment. It may not take us long to find out what path the operators of this Asian country take.
rmation | The Wall Street Journal
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