Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs has added Chinese companies Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) to a strategic export control list, a list that also includes entities such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda. This means that local manufacturers must obtain government approval before exporting any goods to these companies, Reuters reports.
The decision was made on June 10, 2025, based on "non-proliferation and other national security considerations." A total of 601 organizations from China, Russia, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, and other countries were added to the list.
Huawei and SMIC are at the center of China's technological ambitions in artificial intelligence and semiconductors. Both companies are already constrained by U.S. export controls, in part because of their reliance on technology from TSMC, the largest contract chipmaker based in Taiwan.
Earlier, the US Department of Commerce found a TSMC chip in the Huawei Ascend 910B processor, the most powerful Chinese AI accelerator. This caused a new wave of restrictions, including from Washington, which ordered TSMC to stop supplying some chips to China.
Taiwan has also repeatedly accused Chinese companies, including SMIC, of attempting to steal technology and poach specialists.