Already penalized by US restrictions, the Chinese giants Huawei and SMIC are among the 601 entities added to the list of export controls from Taiwan.
Taiwan has added Chinese companies Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) to its export control list, alongside banned organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The move, motivated by national security concerns, now requires Taiwanese companies to obtain government approval before selling products to these groups.
The announcement was made on the website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Trade Administration, following a review of the list of entities concerned on June 10. A total of 601 entities were added, including players from Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Myanmar, and China. The ministry said the update was aimed at preventing the proliferation of weapons and strengthening national security. It called on manufacturers to comply with export rules, exercise rigorous verification and carefully assess commercial risks.
Huawei and SMIC, pillars of China’s ambitions in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, are already facing US export restrictions. Huawei is on a US Commerce Department blacklist, which prevents it from receiving US goods and technology, as well as components manufactured abroad with US technology, such as TSMC chips.
Last October, Canadian firm TechInsights dismantled a Huawei 910B AI processor and found a chip produced by TSMC. This chip, considered one of the most advanced AI accelerators produced in China, led TSMC to suspend deliveries to Sophgo, a Chinese company whose chip matched the one integrated into the 910B. In November, the US Department of Commerce ordered TSMC to halt all new chip deliveries to Chinese customers.
Taiwan, home to TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry and a key supplier to Nvidia, already imposes severe restrictions on chip exports to China, particularly for products manufactured locally or supplied by Taiwanese companies.
In addition, the Taiwanese government has issued repeated warnings against attempts by China, including SMIC, to divert technology and illegally recruit talent from the island’s semiconductor industry. SMIC, China’s leading chip manufacturer, is investing heavily to strengthen its production capacity and reduce Beijing’s technological dependence amid restrictions imposed by the United States.
