An investigation has been opened by China’s government into US chipmaker, Micron Technology, an Idaho-based semiconductor firm. The probe comes after the US sought to curtail Beijing’s access to these important electronic components. There has been a deepening tech war between the two nations, China and US. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has announced that they have started the investigation in order to “safeguard key information infrastructure supply chain security” and “prevent cyberspace security risks due to problematic products.” The announcement has been shared through the press release published by the company.
Further, the Chinese government has not shared their views on the matter. According to Russian – based RT news, several factors could have influenced the CAC’s decision to probe an American chipmaker and Micron in particular. Earlier, a similar kind of investigation into Chinese technology firms like Huawei has taken place. Huawei has been placed on a US trade blacklist in 2019 after the US accused the company of enabling espionage by Beijing. However, both, Huawei and the Chinese government have denied it. After the ban, two straight years of declining profits in 2021 and 2022 have been witnessed by China-based Huawei. Biden administration has reportedly planned to hammer Huawei with export controls to hasten the Chinese firm’s “demise,” reported the Wall Street Journal.
China investigates Micron, a US chipmaker semiconductor firm
According to the South China Morning Post, this investigation by China would be harming the company’s bottom line, as China accounts for 10% of its sales. Further, the products of the US Chip firm directly compete with those of local companies and this would benefit the indigenous industry. Semiconductors have been used in a host of modern devices, from smartphones to washing machines to guided missiles, reported RT news. Microchips have been majorly manufactured in East Asia, Taiwan with 60% production. Apart from this, there is South Korea, Japan, the US, and China with a strong hold over the semiconductor industry. As per the South China Morning Post news report, Micron allegedly lobbied the Biden administration to pass the manufacturing funding bill and closed a chip design centre in Shanghai months before it became law. On Friday, the company released a press statement that it has been “cooperating fully” with the CAC and that it “stand[s] by the security of our products.”