China's State Internet Information Office has told the country's critical information infrastructure operators that they should no longer purchase products from U.S. semiconductor company Micron Technology.
The cybersecurity review office previously conducted a cybersecurity review of Micron's products sold in China. The purpose of the review is to prevent product cybersecurity issues from compromising the security of the country's critical information infrastructure and to maintain national security.
Micron provides memory and storage solutions for communications applications such as mobile, 5G and data center networks, as well as automobiles, consumer electronics, servers and computers.
The State Internet Information Office said the review found that Micron products have more serious cybersecurity risks and may pose significant security risks to the national critical information infrastructure supply chain and affect national security. As a result, the cybersecurity review office did not approve Micron's products. The regulator said this means that "under the Cybersecurity Law and other laws and regulations, operators of China's critical information infrastructure should stop purchasing Micron products."
In a statement, the U.S. government went on to say, "China is firmly committed to promoting a high level of openness to the outside world. As long as they comply with Chinese laws and regulations, companies from all countries and all kinds of platforms are welcome to enter the Chinese market."
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Commerce has issued an official statement in response. It said, "We firmly oppose restrictions that have no basis in fact. This action, along with the recent attacks and targeting of other U.S. companies, is inconsistent with [China's] assertion that it is opening up its markets and is committed to a transparent regulatory framework. "
The announcement is the latest optical communications chapter in the story of China's declining trade relations with the West, with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also banning China Telecom (Americas) from providing telecommunications services in the country. The U.K. has also banned the use of Huawei technology in its 5G networks and plans to phase out the use of its products in FTTx networks by 2027. Late last year, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission passed a law banning China's ZTE and Huawei from selling telecoms equipment in the country.
