Chinese chip makers’ shares slump after U.S. publishes new export rules

SHANGHAI  – Shares in Chinese semiconductor companies slumped on Monday, following the latest U.S. crackdown on China’s chipmaking industry to slow Beijing’s technological and military advances.

The Biden administration published a sweeping set of export controls on Friday, including a measure to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment.

An index measuring China’s semiconductor firms tumbled about 5 percent, and Shanghai’s tech-focused board STAR Market declined nearly 3 percent in early morning trade.

The raft of measures could amount to the biggest shift in U.S. policy toward shipping technology to China since the 1990s. If effective, they could hobble China’s chip manufacturing industry by forcing American and foreign companies that use U.S. technology to cut off support for some of China’s leading factories and chip designers.

China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) dropped nearly 5 percent, NAURA Technology Group Co slumped 10 percent by the daily limit, and Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd plunged roughly 9 percent by 0154 GMT.