China's 'sea turtle' tech executives stranded by U.S. crackdown

Chinese Americans at top chipmakers snared by U.S. new export ban

Employees work on the production line of semiconductor wafer at a factory in China. The latest round of U.S. export curbs takes aim at the heart of Beijing's chip ambitions. © Getty Images

CHENG TING-FANG, Nikkei Asia chief tech correspondent

October 11, 2022 14:39 JST

TAIPEI -- The latest U.S. crackdown on China's tech has left a group of talented employees caught in the crossfire: the hundreds of Chinese Americans who have been some of the key figures at China's homegrown semiconductor-related companies.

For the first time, U.S. export controls on China have expanded to block "U.S. persons" -- both citizens and permanent residents -- from supporting the "development" or "production" of certain high-end chips that could advance Chinese tech applications from military use and artificial intelligence to supercomputers.