The Commerce Department is updating its policies to prevent China from obtaining advanced computer chips

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Commerce Department on Tuesday updated and expanded export controls to prevent China from obtaining advanced computer chips and the equipment needed to manufacture them.

The reviews come about a year later Export controls were launched for the first time To address the use of chips for military applications that include the development of hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence.

“These export controls are intended to protect technologies that have clear national security or human rights implications,” the Commerce Secretary said. Gina Raymondo He said in a call with reporters. “The vast majority of semiconductors will remain unrestricted. But when we identify threats to national security or human rights, we will act decisively and in coordination with our allies.”

The updates are the result of industry consultation and technological analyses. There will now be a gray area in which chips will still be monitored and can still be used for military purposes even if they do not meet the minimum commercial restrictions.

It is also possible that chip exports could be limited to companies headquartered in Macau or anywhere subject to a US arms embargo, preventing relevant countries from circumventing controls and supplying chips to China.

The updates also introduce new requirements that make it harder for China to manufacture advanced chips abroad. The list of manufacturing equipment that falls under export controls has also been expanded, among other policy changes.

Export controls announced last year were a source of frustration for the Chinese government, which viewed the design and manufacture of high-end semiconductors as essential to achieving its economic and geopolitical goals. Raimondo said the restrictions on these chips are not designed to weaken China’s economic growth.

At a meeting in August, Raimondo and her Chinese counterparts agreed Exchange information on export controls. But a senior administration official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the policy, said the US government had not discussed revised export control standards with China. China’s second-in-command, Premier Li Qiang, called on Washington to take “concrete measures” to improve relations, referring to Chinese pressure to bring about changes in US policy on technology, Taiwan and other issues.

Chinese government officials are scheduled to head to San Francisco in November to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

President Joe Biden He suggested that he might meet on the sidelines of the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, although the meeting has not yet been confirmed. the The two leaders met last year Following the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, shortly after the export controls were announced.

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This story has been corrected to show that the spelling is Macau, not Macau.