China’s imports of semiconductor-making machinery dropped 40 percent from November last year to $2.3 billion following the October release of U.S. restrictions on the export of advanced chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to the nation, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
In October, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security implemented new export controls on advanced computing chips and semiconductor production items as part of efforts to safeguard U.S. national security by restricting China’s access to such technologies that could advance its military modernization efforts and surveillance activities.
China’s purchase of American-made chip-making equipment plunged to $349 million in November, reflecting a nearly 50 percent drop from a year earlier and a decline of nearly 30 percent from September, according to data supplied by Beijing.
Shipments of chip manufacturing machines from Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands to China also dropped in November following the issuance of the new U.S. rules, according to the report.
The data showed that the November figure was the lowest since May 2020 and reflected a sharp drop from China’s chip equipment imports of $4 billion in June 2021.
The new export restrictions have resulted in some chip-manufacturing equipment organizations’ withdrawing their personnel and pausing work at Chinese facilities.
