The U.S. government on Tuesday added dozens of Chinese tech companies to its export blacklist, marking the Trump administration’s first major move to curb Beijing’s artificial intelligence and advanced computing capabilities.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security placed 80 organizations, including more than 50 from China, on its “entity list,” barring American firms from supplying them without government approval. The blacklisted companies were accused of acting against U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, particularly in areas such as exascale computing, quantum technologies, and AI-driven military applications.
The administration targeted Chinese firms involved in developing advanced AI, supercomputers, and high-performance AI chips for military use. Two companies were cited for supplying sanctioned entities, including Huawei and its chipmaking affiliate HiSilicon. Additionally, 27 entities were blacklisted for acquiring U.S.-origin technology to support China’s military modernization, while seven were penalized for advancing China’s quantum computing capabilities.
Among those named were six subsidiaries of the cloud-computing firm Inspur Group, which had already faced restrictions under the Biden administration in 2023. The decision comes amid rising competition from Chinese AI startups like DeepSeek, which have driven the adoption of open-source, low-cost AI models, challenging U.S. firms reliant on proprietary systems.
Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey I. Kessler stated the move was a “clear, resounding message” that the Trump administration will prevent U.S. technology from being exploited for military advancements, including high-performance computing, hypersonic missiles, military aircraft training, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). “The entity list is one of many powerful tools at our disposal to identify and cut off foreign adversaries seeking to exploit American technology for malign purposes,” Kessler said.
