SEOUL - Export restrictions being considered by Washington to halt China's advances in semiconductor manufacturing could come at a substantial cost, experts say, potentially disrupting fragile global chip supply chains - and hurting US businesses.
Samsung and SK Hynix, which control more than half of the global NAND flash memory chip market, have invested heavily in China in recent decades to produce chips that are vital to customers, including tech giants Apple, Amazon, Facebook owner Meta and Google. But the shortage has yet to be fully resolved. Any signs of fresh disruption could rekindle supply uncertainty, triggering a price surge - as seen earlier this year when China imposed Covid-19 restrictions in Xian city, where Samsung manufactures chips.
In Samsung's memory chip operation in Xian, central China, one of the largest foreign chip projects in the country, the company has invested a total of about US$26 billion since it broke ground on the site in 2012, including chip production, as well as testing and packaging. SK Hynix completed late last year the first phase of its US$9 billion purchase of Intel's NAND business, including its Dalian, China NAND manufacturing facility.The move being considered by the US is one of several recent signs of deepening tensions between Beijing and Washington over the tech sector.