The valuation is the latest escalation in the chip war between the United States and China, as Washington seeks to restrict Beijing’s access to the most advanced semiconductors.
It also came at a time when China is stepping up its enforcement of national security and anti-espionage laws.
The Cyber Security Authority said in a statement that Micron’s products “involve relatively serious potential security issues in the network, which pose a significant security risk to the infrastructure supply chain of information critical of China and affect China’s national security”.
“Critical information infrastructure operators in China should stop buying Micron products,” she added.
The broad definition of China’s critical information infrastructure includes sectors ranging from transportation to healthcare.
For its part, Micron said in a statement: “We have received a notification from the Cyber Security Authority that it has completed its assessment of Micron products sold in China.”
“We are evaluating the conclusion and evaluating our next steps,” she added.
When asked if he would appeal the decision, a spokeswoman for Micron said, “We look forward to continuing discussions with Chinese authorities.”
About 10% of Micron’s annual revenue, which was $30.8 billion last year, came from China, according to company data.
But much of Micron’s products sold in China were purchased by overseas manufacturers, experts said, and it was unclear whether the cybersecurity authority’s decision affected the company’s sales to overseas buyers.
In 2021, China announced stricter rules to protect critical information infrastructure.
It has also recently strengthened enforcement of data security and anti-spyware laws.
In March, Beijing launched a cybersecurity assessment of products from Micron, one of the world’s largest chipmakers.
“bullying tactics”
The chip war between Beijing and Washington escalated last year when the United States imposed restrictions on China’s access to advanced chips, chipmaking equipment and software used to design semiconductors. -drivers.
Washington has also blacklisted Chinese companies, including Micron’s competitor Yangtze Memory Technologies.
Washington justified its decision on national security concerns and said it wanted to prevent the Chinese armed forces and intelligence services from obtaining “sensitive technologies for military purposes”.
The United States has imposed restrictions on the sales of the products of the affected domestic companies abroad.
He is also trying to convince his main allies to follow suit.
In this context, the Netherlands and Japan – two major manufacturers of equipment specializing in semiconductor technology – recently announced new restrictions on the export of certain products, but they did not explicitly mention the China.
Beijing has criticized the restrictions, calling them “US bullying tactics” and accusing Washington of practicing “technological terrorism”, stressing that such restrictions will only strengthen its resolve to achieve self-sufficiency in the sector.
Developing a strong domestic semiconductor industry is a long-term goal of the Chinese government, which has invested billions of dollars in domestic chip companies.
Chips are the lifeblood of the modern global economy, used to power everything from cars to smartphones, and are expected to become a trillion-dollar industry worldwide by 2030.
The industry’s vitality is evident in China, the world’s second-largest economy, which depends on a steady supply of foreign chips to manufacture electronics.
In 2021, China imported semiconductors worth $430 billion, more than it spent importing oil.
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