Tech war intensifies: China blocks use of Intel and AMD chips in govt computers, says report

China has come up with new guidelines to phase out US microprocessors from Intel and AMD from government personal computers and servers, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. 

The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft's Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favour of domestic options, the report said.

Government agencies above the township level have reportedly been told to include criteria requiring "safe and reliable" processors and operating systems when making purchases.

Reuters reported that China's industry ministry in late December issued a statement with three separate lists of CPUs, operating systems, and centralised database deemed "safe and reliable" for three years after the publication date, all from Chinese companies.

The US has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor output and reduce reliance on China and Taiwan with the Biden administration's 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. It is designed to bolster US semiconductors and contains financial aid for domestic production with subsidies for the production of advanced chips.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that the US is considering blacklisting a number of Chinese semiconductor firms linked to Huawei. 

Most of the Chinese entities that could be affected were previously identified as chipmaking facilities acquired or being built by Huawei in a presentation by the Washington-based trade group Semiconductor Industry Association, the report said citing people familiar with the matter. 

The companies that could be blacklisted include chipmakers Qingdao Si’En, SwaySure, and Shenzhen Pensun Technology Co., or PST. 

The Biden administration is also weighing sanctions on China's leading memory chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc, the report said.

(With inputs from Reuters)