Chip, because restrictions on China affect American leaders
Managers of Chinese chip companies with US citizenship or permanent residency permits may have to give up their jobs. All the details
The new semiconductor export controls to China that Joe Biden's administration issued two weeks ago pose a problem for US citizens holding managerial positions in Chinese companies.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL SURVEY
In fact, the rules prohibit Americans from helping Beijing develop advanced microchip design and manufacturing capabilities. According to a Wall Street Journal survey, at least forty-three senior executives from sixteen Chinese semiconductor companies are US citizens. Many jobs have high-level qualifications, referred to as the C-suite , as a CEO, president, or vice president.
Virtually all American executives currently working in the Chinese microchip industry have previously spent years in Silicon Valley in companies that make semiconductors or equipment for their production. Some of them moved to the People's Republic because they were attracted by talent attraction programs such as “Thousand Talents”, introduced by the Chinese government in 2008 precisely with the aim of enhancing national innovative capacities.
THE AMERICAN RESTRICTIONS ON PEOPLE
The latest restrictions from the US Department of Commerce do not just limit the possibilities of selling advanced semiconductors, microchip manufacturing machinery and similar American products to China; they also prohibit US physical persons – that is, those who hold US citizenship or a permanent residency permit, or who live in the US – from supporting Chinese companies and entities in the development and manufacture of advanced chips.
WORK OR RESIDENCE
Several companies such as China's Naura Technology or Dutch ASML said they had to suspend American employees from their jobs.
Limiting the possibilities for Chinese companies to access US "physical" know-how – that is, talented people who work and research – could seriously damage Beijing's innovative capabilities.
However, many American executives of Chinese companies will likely end up having to choose between their job and their US citizenship (or permanent residence permit). In fact, to continue working in China and with China, they will have to receive a specific license, but obtaining it will probably be difficult.
COMPANIES AFFECTED
Among the Chinese semiconductor companies most affected by the restrictions on American workers are AMEC (manufactures machinery for processing silicon wafers), GigaDevice (manufactures memory chips for computers and cars), KingSemi (coatings for chips).
The president of AMEC, Gerald Yin, is an American citizen. GigaDevice Vice President Shu Qingming has a US passport. An executive director of KingSemi, Chen Xinglong, holds the green card , which is the authorization for permanent residence in the United States.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/restrizioni-chip-cina-dirigenti-americani/ on Tue, 18 Oct 2022 05:08:42 +0000.