Caixin (August 15), quoting analysts, reported that new U.S. restrictions on the export of
semiconductor design software announced by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security on
August 12 will have little immediate effect on Chinese chipmaking, but could throttle the
nation’s research into the next generation of advanced semiconductors. While they do not
mention China by name, the new rules are seen as the latest in a string of measures by which
Washington is trying to constrain the country’s push to develop its semiconductor industry,
which Beijing sees as a strategic priority. The new orders require U.S. companies to obtain
government permission before exporting electronic design automation (EDA) software
designed for the development of chips which have a gate-all around (GAA) transistor structure.
The export restrictions won’t have an immediate impact on the business of China’s chipmakers and designers, as no mainland firms are currently capable of designing or producing such
advanced chips, analysts said.
(Comment: EDA are a category of tools which includes both software and hardware that can
assist engineers in the creation and testing of new chip designs. The GAA structure is a nextgeneration technology that enables the manufacture of chips with transistors of 3 nanometres
or less, which are more powerful and efficient than their larger predecessors.)
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