The US again ratcheted up restrictions on China’s access to advanced chip technology, expanding curbs to cover additional manufacturing and software tools, and widening export controls to include equipment made in Singapore.

Latest controls cover China-bound shipments of high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips and add 140 companies to the US entity list. All but four, two in South Korea and one each in Japan and Singapore, are based in China.

US companies cannot do business with those on the list without securing an export licence.

The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended its export regulations, adding new controls for certain advanced computing items, supercomputers and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to impair the capability to produce advanced-node integrated circuits by certain entities.

Northern Integrated Circuit Technology Innovation Centre (Beijing) and SMIC Advanced Technology R&D (Shanghai) were added to the list, with BIS claiming they attempted to acquire US tools or components, which risk supporting production of advanced-node ICs at facilities of entities on the list.

In a document, it stated the companies were determined to be acting “contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests” of the US.

China’s Foreign Ministry representative Lin Jian stated in a daily briefing the move disrupts international economic and trade order, and destabilises global industrial and supply chains: “China firmly opposes the US’ overstretching the concept of national security, abusing export controls and maliciously blocking and suppressing China.”

In March, the US government pressured the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea and Japan to increase chip restrictions on China.