China Bars Purchases of Micron Chips in Escalation of US Clash

China Bars Purchases of Micron Chips in Escalation of US Clash - Bloomberg
China fails Micron's products in security review, bars some purchases (channelnewsasia.com)

China fails Micron's products in security review, bars some purchases​

FILE PHOTO: A smartphone with a displayed Micron logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
21 May 2023 08:46PM(Updated: 21 May 2023 11:44PM)

BEIJING :China's cyberspace regulator said on Sunday that products made by U.S. memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology had failed its network security review and that it would bar operators of key infrastructure from procuring from the firm.
According to China's broad definition of critical information infrastructure, this could include sectors ranging from transport to finance.
"The review found that Micron's products have serious network security risks, which pose significant security risks to China's critical information infrastructure supply chain, affecting China's national security," the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement.
Micron said it had received the CAC's notice of conclusion of its review of the company's products sold in China, and "look forward to continuing to engage in discussions with Chinese authorities".
The CAC neither provided details on what risks it had found nor what Micron products would be affected.
China announced its review of Micron's products in late March. The company said at the time it was cooperating and that its business operations in China were normal.
The governments of the United States and China are in a dispute about chip technology. Washington has imposed a series of export controls on chipmaking technology to China and moved to prevent Micron rival Yangtze Memory Technologies from buying certain American components.
Micron derives around 10 per cent of its revenue from China, but it is not clear if the decision affects the company's sales to non-Chinese customers in the country.
The larger chunk of Micron's products flowing into China are being purchased by non-Chinese firms for use in products manufactured there, according to analysts.
China in September 2021 imposed rules aimed at protecting critical information infrastructure, which require their operators to comply with stricter requirements around areas such as data security.
Beijing has broadly defined the industries it considers "critical" as ones such as public communication and transport but it has not specified exactly what type of company or business scope this will be applied to.

 

[JSCh]

I wonder what "Micron's products have serious network security risks" actually mean.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

I wonder what "Micron's products have serious network security risks" actually mean.

Micron makes memories. They can be used to store passwords.
China is perhaps going to try to develop computers without any memory…
Only time will tell if they succeed.

 

[huanghong]

Micron makes memories. They can be used to store passwords.
China is perhaps going to try to develop computers without any memory…
Only time will tell if they succeed.

Why not use China's own memory, but develop computers without any memory？

 

[gambit]

I wonder what "Micron's products have serious network security risks" actually mean.

It means nothing.

Now, before you start going off the handle, I suggest you use the forum's search feature on my comments about the semicon industry. I have explained to interested laymen more on the industry than any PDF Chinese have done and can do. Simply, I am working in the industry, specifically Process Engineering area, sub Functional and Parametric testing. I was involved in the Micron-Intel 3DXP (Optane) joint venture.

A router, a computer, a Blu Ray player, a console game box, or a 'smart' refrigerator, all are appliances. Security risks are best installed and run at the appliance level. Micron memory products do not have embedded non-volatile s/w in them. Or to put it another way, CANNOT have because of how they are constructed. Everyone knows this because every company buy each other's products and literally under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) take the products apart, layer by layer. I have done this for a couple yrs. Very interesting work analyzing how our competitors do their things.

Everything governments do are politically based, of course. But when it comes to technical issues, the political decisions must be credibly based and this action by China is NOT one of them. Complete nonsense at the technical level and China knows it, hence, no evidence, let alone supporting proof.

 

[Paji]

It means nothing.

Now, before you start going off the handle, I suggest you use the forum's search feature on my comments about the semicon industry. I have explained to interested laymen more on the industry than any PDF Chinese have done and can do. Simply, I am working in the industry, specifically Process Engineering area, sub Functional and Parametric testing. I was involved in the Micron-Intel 3DXP (Optane) joint venture.

A router, a computer, a Blu Ray player, a console game box, or a 'smart' refrigerator, all are appliances. Security risks are best installed and run at the appliance level. Micron memory products do not have embedded non-volatile s/w in them. Or to put it another way, CANNOT have because of how they are constructed. Everyone knows this because every company buy each other's products and literally under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) take the products apart, layer by layer. I have done this for a couple yrs. Very interesting work analyzing how our competitors do their things.

Everything governments do are politically based, of course. But when it comes to technical issues, the political decisions must be credibly based and this action by China is NOT one of them. Complete nonsense at the technical level and China knows it, hence, no evidence, let alone supporting proof.

This is a great post. Micron is just an easy target for retailiation because the chips they sell in China are mostly commoditised and can easily be sourced from Samsung, Hynix etc . The Chinese government would likely not take the same action against Nvidia because their chips don't all have commoditised substitutes. Micron has also been putting it's eggs in the US/ Japan/Taiwan axis and downscaling its presence in China, so this really should not be a surprise for them either. Most likely, Chinese companies will switch to Samsung, etc and those who were buying from Samsung will switch to Micron.

 

[gambit]

This is a great post. Micron is just an easy target for retailiation because the chips they sell in China are mostly commoditised and can easily be sourced from Samsung, Hynix etc . The Chinese government would likely not take the same action against Nvidia because their chips don't all have commoditised substitutes. Micron has also been putting it's eggs in the US/ Japan/Taiwan axis and downscaling its presence in China, so this really should not be a surprise for them either. Most likely, Chinese companies will switch to Samsung, etc and those who were buying from Samsung will switch to Micron.

Right now, every semicon engineer in the world, including China, are laughing behind closed doors at this decision and publication.

 

[JSCh]

Look like stock investor would rather err on the safe side, after all it is their own money at stack here ...

Micron Drops After China Claims Its Chips Pose Security Risk

Micron Technology Inc.’s stock declined after China’s cyberspace regulator said that its products failed to pass a cybersecurity review, a move that jeopardized the company’s sales in a crucial market.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[renhai]

.no evidence, let alone supporting proof.

what? Americans talk about "evidence"? Meng Wanzhou knows this?

Right now, every semicon engineer in the world, including China, are laughing behind closed doors at this decision and publication.

The whole world is mocking the sensitivity and fragility of Americans.lol.

 

[Zsari]

It means nothing.

Now, before you start going off the handle, I suggest you use the forum's search feature on my comments about the semicon industry. I have explained to interested laymen more on the industry than any PDF Chinese have done and can do. Simply, I am working in the industry, specifically Process Engineering area, sub Functional and Parametric testing. I was involved in the Micron-Intel 3DXP (Optane) joint venture.

A router, a computer, a Blu Ray player, a console game box, or a 'smart' refrigerator, all are appliances. Security risks are best installed and run at the appliance level. Micron memory products do not have embedded non-volatile s/w in them. Or to put it another way, CANNOT have because of how they are constructed. Everyone knows this because every company buy each other's products and literally under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) take the products apart, layer by layer. I have done this for a couple yrs. Very interesting work analyzing how our competitors do their things.

Everything governments do are politically based, of course. But when it comes to technical issues, the political decisions must be credibly based and this action by China is NOT one of them. Complete nonsense at the technical level and China knows it, hence, no evidence, let alone supporting proof.

Since when does anyone need evidence to ban products over "national security concern"? Have you not learned anything for the past 4 years?

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

Why not use China's own memory, but develop computers without any memory？

Computers with memory are a security risk…

 

[Paji]

Look like stock investor would rather err on the safe side, after all it is their own money at stack here ...

Micron Drops After China Claims Its Chips Pose Security Risk

Micron Technology Inc.’s stock declined after China’s cyberspace regulator said that its products failed to pass a cybersecurity review, a move that jeopardized the company’s sales in a crucial market.

www.bloomberg.com

After the news was fully digested, the stock closed less than 3% down on the day and is up more than 30% this year. People realise this is just China trying to gain a bargaining pawn in the fight.

Micron had been vocal about IP theft by Chinese companies and was, in fact, downsizing development activities in China to derisk anyway. There will be some hit to sales in the short run for sure, but most of their China business is commoditised chips put into gadgets like smartphones. In a few months the supply chains will readjust and the Chinese buyers will be replaced by those in Vietnam, India, etc as more foreign firms downsize operations in China.

 

[gambit]

Since when does anyone need evidence to ban products over "national security concern"? Have you not learned anything for the past 4 years?

Look at it this way...

Without me, all you guys would put on post after post of pseudo-technical mumbo-jumbo as to how China found those 'national security risks', and get away with them because most people simply do not know better.

 

[Zsari]

Look at it this way...

Without me, all you guys would put on post after post of pseudo-technical mumbo-jumbo as to how China found those 'national security risks', and get away with them because most people simply do not know better.

You miss the whole point that retaliation is not only all that China need to justify its move, but also the most satisfying one. So no, nobody is going to give any pseudo-technical mumbo-jumbo, as that actually weaken China's response.

 

[gambit]

You miss the whole point that retaliation is not only all that China need to justify its move, but also the most satisfying one. So no, nobody is going to give any pseudo-technical mumbo-jumbo, as that actually weaken China's response.

So call the truth -- that Micron's shit is great stuff but we just want to retaliate.

But China know better so the technical facade was erected -- national security risks.