Apple is testing DRAM memory chips from China’s state-backed ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), according to the Financial Times (a subscription is required to read the article).
This isn’t a surprise. On July 1 it was reported that the tech giant was in talks to buy memory from Chinese semiconductor companies CXMT and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC). It was previously reported by The Financial Times that Apple had asked the Trump administration for permission to buy memory chips from CXMT.
The problem is that the Chinese company is on the Pentagon’s 1260H list of companies with alleged connections to the Chinese military. While Apple isn’t barred from using CXMT as a supplier, the iPhone maker is seeking guarantees CXMT won’t be added to the US’s so-called Entity List that would impose stiff licensing restrictions as Washington and Beijing play hardball over trade and rare earths.
The Pentagon, which had previously removed CXMT and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. from the 1260H list, restored the two memory chipmakers in its newest version. While the list carries few immediate legal repercussions, it’s widely considered a red flag to investors that can precede more punitive trade restrictions, notes Fortune.
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