On Thursday (April 8), the U.S. Department of Commerce placed a new ban on Chinese high-tech companies, blacklisting seven supercomputer Chinese entities for export control. The Commerce Department said the companies have close ties to the Communist Party’s military and are engaged in destabilizing Communist Party military development efforts, including the development of hypersonic weapons that pose a threat to the United States and Taiwan. Pictured is a supercomputer file photo. (Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images)
On Thursday (April 8), the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed a new ban on Chinese high-tech companies, blacklisting seven supercomputer Chinese entities for export control. The Commerce Department said the entities have close ties to the Communist Party’s military and are engaged in destabilizing Communist Party military development efforts, including the development of hypersonic weapons. These weapons pose a threat to the United States and Taiwan.
A senior Commerce Department official, who asked not to be named, told The Washington Post that the U.S. government’s move is effectively a way to keep U.S. stuff from helping the development of the Communist Party’s military capabilities.
The seven Chinese companies listed by the Commerce Department are: Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Technology and Industry Promotion Center, Shenzhen Xinwei Microelectronics Co. Design Center), Sunway Microelectronics, the National Supercomputing Center Jinan, the National Supercomputing Center Shenzhen, and the National Supercomputing Center Shenzhen. The National Supercomputing Center Jinan, the National Supercomputing Center Shenzhen, the National Supercomputing Center Wuxi, and the National Supercomputing Center Zhengzhou. Zhengzhou.
The China Post reports that the new blacklisted companies, Tianjin Feiteng Information Technology Co. Microprocessors produced by Tianjin Feiteng have been used in supercomputers at China’s largest aerodynamics research center (CARDC), which is conducting research on the CCP’s hypersonic weapons.
Tianjin National Supercomputing Center Blacklisted After Using Feiteng to Access U.S. Technology
In 2015, the U.S. government placed two institutions affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party’s military, the National University of Defense Science and Technology and the Tianjin National Supercomputing Center, on the Commerce Department’s list of entities. Tianjin Feiteng has strong ties to these two institutions.
Ten years ago, before being blacklisted, the Tianjin Supercomputing Laboratory used Intel chips in its supercomputer, Tianhe-1. After being blacklisted, the Tianjin lab began switching to Feiteng products, Western analysts said.
According to mainland Internet sources, the Tianhe-1 supercomputer uses a heterogeneous computing architecture and is equipped with CPUs produced by Fetion; Tianhe-3 was jointly developed by the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin and the National University of Defense Technology, and on July 22, 2018, the Tianhe-3 E-class prototype system was developed and deployed at the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin. “The Tianhe III E-class prototype system adopts the independent Feiteng CPU.
Feiteng Helps Chinese Communist Party Develop Hypersonic Weapons
The China Post reports that a supercomputer is running at high speed at a secret military facility in southwest China, simulating the heat and drag of a hypersonic vehicle as it flies through the air. According to former U.S. officials and Western analysts, Chinese communist missiles could one day target U.S. aircraft carriers or Taiwan.
The computer is powered by a microchip designed by Feiteng using U.S. software, analysts said. Feiteng, which describes itself as privately held and aims to become a global chip giant like Intel, has not made public its ties to the Chinese Communist Party’s military research arm.
The WaPo reports that Feiteng chips are produced in state-of-the-art chip factories in Taiwan, and that the final stages of Feiteng chip design are done by Taiwan’s Worldcore.
The CCP hypersonic vehicle testing facility is located at the China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center (CARDC), which is managed by a PLA major general, according to public documents.
The partnership between Feiteng and CARDC provides a prime example of how the CCP can quietly use civilian technology for strategic military purposes with the help of U.S. technology, the report said.
Hypersonic technology refers to a range of emerging technologies that can propel missiles at more than five times the speed of sound and potentially evade current defenses.
According to former U.S. officials, the Trump (Trump) administration was scheduled to blacklist Feiteng and several other Chinese companies for export late last year, but failed to do so in time.
Feiteng uses products from U.S. software companies. From now on, those U.S. companies must get permission from the U.S. Commerce Department to continue doing business with the Chinese chipmaker.
Experts say the U.S. export ban will slow the development of the Communist Party’s hypersonic weapons program, as well as other advanced weapons and more powerful surveillance capabilities.
Sanctioned Chinese Entity and CCP General Staff 56 All Links
A second senior Commerce Department official told the WaPo that the Shanghai Integrated Circuit Technology and Industry Promotion Center and some of the supercomputing centers also subject to sanctions support the Communist Party’s Military Institute 56, which handles code breaking for communications interception. The U.S. Commerce Department official said, “All of this points to these (Chinese) companies having a state-standard way of supporting the (Chinese Communist) military.”
The 56th Institute of the Chinese Communist Party General Staff was the first computer research institute established by the Chinese and Communist Party military, and the largest computer research institute in the Communist Party military, having participated in the development of the Communist Party’s first large-scale electronic computer.
The U.S. official said, “While these (super) computers have many legitimate civilian uses, they are also very important for weapons design, particularly advanced weapons design, nuclear weapons, cyber attacks, missiles and even hypersonic technology.”
National Security Expert: Biden Administration Needs to Consider Foreign Production Direct Product Rules
While U.S. national security experts support the actions taken by the administration, they also warn that there are still loopholes in the sanctions that need to be closed.
Tim Morrison, a Trump administration aide who coordinates export control policy, told WaPo, “It’s going to take a lot more than what’s manifesting now to really make a difference.”
He said the Biden administration must adopt stricter measures, known as the foreign-produced direct product rule, which prohibits sanctioned entities from using all U.S. technology and covers non-U.S. companies, including Taiwanese chip foundries that use U.S. precision tools.
Morrison said, “Otherwise, China (Communist Party of China) will continue to have access to this technology and believes that the Biden administration does not really value the promised ‘extreme competition’.”
Working with allies to tackle competition with the Chinese Communist Party
A second Commerce Department official said the department is trying to make export controls more effective by talking with allies to see what actions they might take because “many of them have similar concerns about China (the Chinese Communist Party).” Taiwan, for example, is a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain, and the world’s most advanced chip foundry is located there.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Wu Chiu-sup said Wednesday that the Republic of China government will work with the United States to monitor its chip suppliers. He said the ROC government wants to “ensure that Taiwan’s semiconductor supply to China is consistent with broader U.S. strategic objectives.”
“The government of the Republic of China has been working closely with the United States to ensure that the supply chain benefits not only Taiwan, but also the broader international community, particularly like-minded countries, and we need to follow those guidelines,” He said.
To compete with the ROC in the long term, U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo said Wednesday, “We must work with our allies and find common ground where it works.”
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