Taiwan Adds China's Huawei, SMIC To Export Control List

Taiwan has added Chinese tech giants Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) to its export control list, placing them alongside entities such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, Ben Blanchard reported for Reuters.

Huawei, which plays a central role in China's AI development ambitions, is also on a U.S. Commerce Department trade blacklist. I Photo: Huawei

The move means Taiwanese companies will now need government approval to export products to Huawei or SMIC. The companies appeared in an updated version of the economy ministry’s trade administration “strategic high-tech commodities entity list” published recently.

Taiwan is home to TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a key supplier to major global firms, including AI leader Nvidia.

Both Huawei and SMIC have been aggressively working to catch up in the global chip technology race. Taiwan already enforces tight chip export controls for products made domestically or shipped to Chinese companies.

Huawei, which plays a central role in China's AI development ambitions, is also on a U.S. Commerce Department trade blacklist, which restricts it from acquiring U.S.-made goods and foreign-made goods—such as TSMC chips—built with U.S. technology.

Last October, Canadian tech research firm TechInsights disassembled Huawei’s 910B AI processor and discovered a TSMC-made chip inside. The multi-chip 910B is considered the most advanced AI accelerator ever mass-produced by a Chinese company.

Following the revelation, TSMC suspended shipments to China-based chipmaker Sophgo, whose product matched the chip found in the Huawei processor.