The US Department of Commerce is taking further steps to limit exports of advanced silicon chip technology to China.

The new rules will go into effect in 30 days. They blacklist Chinese chip designers Moore Threads and Biren, and restrict the sale of a large range of advanced semiconductor technologies to 21 countries, including Iran and Russia, over fears the equipment could be diverted to China and other national security concerns.

According to commerce department secretary Gina Raimondo, the rules aim to limit China’s access to “advanced semiconductors that could fuel breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and sophisticated computers that are critical to [Chinese] military applications”. 

The new measures are also address the loopholes created by the rules set in 2022, which banned the sale of the Nvidia H100. However, they did not account for Chinese firms being  able to buy a slightly slowed-down version called the H800 or A800.

In contrast, the...