Advertisement

China fails Micron's products in security review

STORY: China says a major U.S. chipmaker - Micron Technology - failed a review and pose a national security risk.

It announced on Sunday that it was banning them from being used in key infrastructure projects.

The move appears to be an escalation of tension over technology and trade between Beijing and Washington.

It follows a weeks-long review into Micron by China's cyberspace regulator,

and could affect everything from transport to telecoms to finance.

In a statement, the CAC said it had concluded that Micron QUOTE:

“...posed significant security risks to China’s critical information infrastructure supply chain”.

The CAC did not provide details on what risks it had found nor what Micron products would be affected.

Within hours the U.S. Commerce Department said the ban had 'no basis in fact.'

Micron gets around 10% of its revenue from China,

but it is not clear if the company's sales to non-Chinese customers in the country will be affected.

In its own statement, Micron said it had received the CAC's notice and it looks "forward to continuing to engage in discussions with Chinese authorities."

China's announcement came as world leaders were meeting for the G7 summit in Japan.

That same day U.S. President Joe Biden on said the G7 nations had agreed to "de-risk and diversify our relationship with China."

The US has already 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.

The news helped bump up stocks of Micron's rivals, like South Korea's Samsung, which are seen as benefitting if mainland firms seek memory chips elsewhere.