China bans American Micron over security concerns

Those who do it, you wait for it and those who don't trust it are not believed. China's cyberspace regulator said on Sunday that products made by U.S. memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc failed its network security review and it would bar operators of key infrastructure from buying from the star-rated company. and stripes.

The decision, announced in the context of a chip technology dispute between Washington and Beijing, could include sectors ranging from telecommunications to transportation and finance, according to China's broad definition of critical information infrastructure.

"The review found that Micron's products pose serious network security risks, which pose significant security risks to China's critical information infrastructure supply chain, affecting China's national security," it said in a statement. the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

Micron said it has received notice from the CAC that it has concluded its investigation of the company's products sold in China and hopes to "continue discussions with Chinese authorities."

The CAC did not provide details of the risks encountered or the affected Micron products, remaining extremely confidential on the matter.

Jefferies analysts had expected a limited impact on Micron, as its main customers in China are consumer electronics companies such as smartphone and computer makers, not infrastructure providers.

“Although Micron's DRAM and NAND products are found in many computers, we don't believe these types of products are particularly sold to government entities. Therefore, the ultimate impact on Micron will be quite limited,” they said in a statement.

Micron makes DRAM and NAND flash memory chips and competes with South Korean companies Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and SK Hynix Inc and Japan's Kioxia, a unit of Toshiba Corp, which may therefore have an edge in the industry.

Shares of SK Hynix and Samsung rose 1% and 0.5% respectively in early Monday, while the broader market rose 0.6%. Toshiba's shares have stalled.

Christopher Miller, Tufts University professor and author of "Chip War: The Fight For The World's Most Critical Technology," emphasized the importance of the moment when the CAC made the announcement during the Group of Seven (G7) leaders' summit in Japan.

Micron last week announced a plan to invest up to 500 billion yen in Japan in extreme ultraviolet technology, becoming the first chipmaker to bring advanced chipmaking technology to the country that is looking to reinvigorate its industry. some chips.

In the dispute between the US and Chinese governments, Washington imposed a series of export controls on chip-making technology in China and moved to prevent Micron's rival, Yangtze Memory Technologies, from buying some American components .

US officials, including members of a US congressional select committee on competition with China, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Now it is China blocking US products on the basis of national security. Continuing on this path we will see a reciprocal ban on electronic and high tech products, with a serious problem in technological development.

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The article China bans US Micron over security concerns comes from Economic Scenarios .

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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-cina-mette-al-bando-lamericana-micron-per-problemi-di-sicurezza/ on Mon, 22 May 2023 09:00:07 +0000.