Taiwan has added China’s Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) to its export control list, which includes other proscribed organisations like the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Inclusion on the economy ministry’s trade administration’s strategic high-tech commodities “entity list” means Taiwanese companies will need government approval before exporting any products to the companies.
The companies, both at the centre of China’s chip and artificial intelligence ambitions, were included in an updated version of the ministry’s trade administration’s website. Neither company responded to requests for comment outside of office hours at the weekend.
In a statement on Sunday, the ministry’s trade administration said it had recently held a meeting to review the entity list, and “based on the prevention of arms proliferation and other national security considerations” updated it on 10 June.
A total of 601 entities were added, including Huawei and SMIC, along with entities from Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Myanmar and China, it said.
“Manufacturers must comply with export control regulations, fulfil their verification obligations and carefully assess transaction risks,” it added.
Taiwan is home to TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker and a major supplier of chips to AI darling Nvidia. Both Huawei and SMIC have been working hard to catch up in the chip technology race.
Largest chip maker
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory despite the strong objections of Taipei’s government, already has tight chip export controls when it comes to Taiwanese companies either manufacturing in the country or supplying Chinese firms.
Huawei is on a US commerce department trade list that essentially bars it from receiving US goods and technology, as well as foreign-made goods such as chips from companies like TSMC made with US technology.
Read: TSMC has a poison pill if China invades Taiwan
Last October, TechInsights, a Canadian tech research firm, took apart Huawei’s 910B AI processor and found a TSMC chip in it. The multi-chip 910B is viewed as the most advanced AI accelerator mass-produced by a Chinese company.
TSMC suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo, whose chip matched the one in the Huawei 910B and, in November the US commerce department ordered TSMC to halt shipments of more chips to Chinese customers.
Taiwan’s government has also repeatedly vowed to crack down on what it says are efforts by Chinese companies, including SMIC, to steal technology and entice chip talent away from the island.
SMIC is China’s largest chip maker and has ramped up investment to expand production capacity and strengthen China’s domestic semiconductor capability in the face of sweeping US export controls. — Ben Blanchard, (c) 2025 Reuters
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