Apple Freezes Plan to Buy Memory Chips From China's YMTC After US Imposes Export Controls

Apple has frozen plans to use chips from one of China's top memory chipmakers after tighter U.S. export controls were imposed on the Chinese tech sector, reports Nikkei Asia.

Yangtze Memory Technologies Logo
According to the report, Apple intended to buy 128-layer 3D NAND flash memory chips from Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) for use in iPhones sold in the Chinese market as early as this year, with the possibility of eventually purchasing up to 40% of the chips needed for all iPhones.

Apple had already completed the months-long process to certify the memory before Washington earlier this month added YMTC and 30 other Chinese entities to an "Unverified" list of companies that U.S. officials have been unable to inspect. U.S. companies are prohibited from sharing any design, technologies, documents or specifications to companies on the Unverified List without a license.

The tighter controls have increased tensions with Beijing, since companies who cannot provide the necessary information within 60 days could be added to the official U.S. export control blacklist. YMTC is also being investigated by the U.S. Commerce Department over whether it violated Washington's export controls by selling chips to Huawei, which is already blacklisted.

The export controls on China imposed by the Biden administration are an effort to slow the country's technological and military advances by cutting off Beijing's supplies off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment. Apple and YMTC did not respond to Nikkei's requests for comment.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: China

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Top Rated Comments

siddavis Avatar
30 months ago

For people blaming China here, let’s not forget that it was not China suddenly getting lazy, trying to reduce and restrict their own exports. It is the US trying to restrain the Chinese economy to preserve its dominance worldwide. So this is a “cause > consequence” situation.
Right, because there hasn’t been any kind of intellectual theft going on for the last half century. This is loooong overdue.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alongdingdong Avatar
30 months ago

Politics 101 is to distract your voter base and blame your problems on a foreign country. Having a common foreign enemy gives power to politicians. China is an easy target due to prolonged media propaganda and historical anglo saxon racism towards the Chinese.

Is China causing you problems in real life? No. Hard-working Chinese people is the reason we have abundant affordable products in the western world. But when the Chinese want to move up the value chain so they can catch up in quality of life, the west is now suddenly saying they're all around an evil country that must be sanctioned.

The west is basically saying to China, "no, you can't design, produce, and sell advanced technology. You must stay as our cheap factory."
Pure racebating here.

Quote:
China is an easy target due to prolonged media propaganda and historical anglo saxon racism towards the Chinese.

Such cheap un-educated one liners from your end.
You ever been into china at all? 99% of the population is Chinese ethnic and mingle only amongst themselves, Why do western countries only be inclusive and multicultural? Chinese settle everywhere in the world build up their own closed out communities in the west, that is factual.

You are only using single sided and very cheap examples, the issue is much complexer then that.

Quote:
The west is basically saying to China, "no, you can't design, produce, and sell advanced technology. You must stay as our cheap factory."

This is clearly a racist based assumption from someone narrow minded only looking at it from their own point of view.

Would not be surprised you are not even Chinese at all.
But i say this, bringing back business to western worlds and accept you going to pay more for your goods is not a bad thing at all alot of people of all cultures would benefit from more work opportunities in the west including the huge amount of Chinese living and working in the west and love living there.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
paulvee Avatar
30 months ago

Politics 101 is to distract your voter base and blame your problems on a foreign country. Having a common foreign enemy gives power to politicians. China is an easy target due to prolonged media propaganda and historical anglo saxon racism towards the Chinese.

Is China causing you problems in real life? No. Hard-working Chinese people is the reason we have abundant affordable products in the western world. But when the Chinese want to move up the value chain so they can catch up in quality of life, the west is now suddenly saying they're all around an evil country that must be sanctioned.

The west is basically saying to China, "no, you can't design, produce, and sell advanced technology. You must stay as our cheap factory."
Aside from being a slave state with massive repression of human rights, China has grand geopolitical designs that are akin to modern colonialism. You are either willfully naive or trolling.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
siddavis Avatar
30 months ago

It's nothing new for US. They've done this to Japan before. The only difference now is that China has a high chance to surpass the US due to its resources while Japan never really had that potential.

And because China has a communist government (in name only, capitalism in practice), the US has another angle to justify these policies.

The US can say "we're banning chip imports/exports to China because they're a single communist government state" instead of saying "we're banning chip imports/exports to China because we're trying to slow their growth so we can stay the world boss longer".




https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/for-america-china-is-the-new-japan-by-stephen-s-roach-2019-05

I always laugh when people think China vs the US is anything other than economics.
Sure, the US made China the villain. :rolleyes:
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WWPD Avatar
30 months ago

Politics 101 is to distract your voter base and blame your problems on a foreign country. Having a common foreign enemy gives power to politicians. China is an easy target due to prolonged media propaganda and historical anglo saxon racism towards the Chinese.

Is China causing you problems in real life? No. Hard-working Chinese people is the reason we have abundant affordable products in the western world. But when the Chinese want to move up the value chain so they can catch up in quality of life, the west is now suddenly saying they're all around an evil country that must be sanctioned.

The west is basically saying to China, "no, you can't design, produce, and sell advanced technology. You must stay as our cheap factory."
"Anglo-Saxon racism" tell that to my Taiwanese wife.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
interessiert Avatar
30 months ago

It's nothing new for US. They've done this to Japan before. The only difference now is that China has a high chance to surpass the US due to its resources while Japan never really had that potential.

And because China has a communist government (in name only, capitalism in practice), the US has another angle to justify these policies.

The US can say "we're banning chip imports/exports to China because they're a single communist government state" instead of saying "we're banning chip imports/exports to China because we're trying to slow their growth so we can stay the world boss longer".




https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/for-america-china-is-the-new-japan-by-stephen-s-roach-2019-05

I always laugh when people think China vs the US is anything other than economics.
It's not "just economics" – these Chinese needs to keep technologically in distance – look at their expansive strategy in Afrika, also in Europe over the last decade.

This is a dictatorship country willingly to reign over more than their own country.

And do not forget: Taiwan threat.

So enough good reasons to limit know how export. ?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)