On Tuesday US lawmakers called for tougher restrictions on the sale of chip-making equipment to China, following a congressional report revealing that Chinese companies purchased $38bn worth of equipment in 2024. The investigation, conducted by the House Select Committee on China, highlights that differences between US, Japanese, and Dutch regulations have allowed some foreign manufacturers to continue supplying Beijing, thereby partially circumventing the bans imposed on US companies.
The report calls for sanctions to be extended to allied countries in order to more effectively restrict China's access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies. The main beneficiaries of these sales are Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA, ASML, and Tokyo Electron, whose transactions with China accounted for nearly 39% of their combined revenue, up 66% since 2022. This equipment is said to have contributed to strengthening China's capabilities in the manufacture of strategic chips, which are at the heart of global technological and military rivalries.
Elected officials cite three Chinese companies in particular, SwaySure Technology, Shenzhen Pengxinxu Technology, and SiEn Integrated Circuits, for their alleged links to an underground network supporting Huawei. The report also recommends limiting the export of components that enable China to develop its own production machinery. According to Mark Dougherty, president of Tokyo Electron US, sales to China have begun to slow down as a result of new regulations, but international coordination remains incomplete. Researcher Craig Singleton summarized, "The Chinese Communist Party is trying to rewrite the entire supply chain," pointing out that niche equipment has now become a major geopolitical issue.
