U.S. controls on China chip tech will crack if tightened too far

Efforts to restrict access to older equipment could fracture fragile alliance

Douglas Fuller

September 1, 2022 17:00 JST

20220831 China Shandong Semiconductor Manufacturing.jpg

An employee of a semiconductor factory in Binzhou, China on Jan. 9: An effort to further restrict Beijing's access to American chipmaking technologies looks likely to backfire. © FeatureChina/AP

Douglas Fuller is an associate professor of international economics, government and business at Copenhagen Business School and the author of "Paper Tigers, Hidden Dragons: Firms and the Political Economy of China's Technological Development."

U.S. President Joe Biden last month touted the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act as key to bringing semiconductor manufacturing "back home" in the face of Chinese efforts to "move way ahead of us."