BEIJING (BBC) - China says products made by U.S. memory chip giant Micron Technology are a national security risk.
The country’s cyberspace regulator announced that America’s biggest maker of memory chips poses “serious network security risks”.
It means the firm’s products will be banned from key infrastructure projects in the world’s second largest economy.
It is China’s first major move against a U.S. chip maker, as tensions increase between Beijing and Washington.
The announcement is the latest development in a deepening row between the U.S. and China over the technology crucial to economies around the world.
The long-running dispute has seen Washington impose a series of measures against Beijing’s chip making industry and invest billions of dollars to boost America’s semiconductor sector.
In a statement, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said: “The review found that Micron’s products have serious network security risks, which pose significant security risks to China’s critical information infrastructure supply chain, affecting China’s national security.”
The CAC did not give details of the risks it said it had found or in which Micron products it had found them.
A Micron spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that the company had “received the CAC’s notice following its review of Micron products sold in China”.
“We are evaluating the conclusion and assessing our next steps. We look forward to continuing to engage in discussions with Chinese authorities,” they added.
In response, the U.S. government said it would work with allies to address what it called “distortions of the memory chip market caused by China’s actions”.
“We firmly oppose restrictions that have no basis in fact,” a U.S. Commerce Department spokesperson said.
“This action, along with recent raids and targeting of other American firms, is inconsistent with [China’s] assertions that it is opening its markets and committed to a transparent regulatory framework.”
Micron’s share price tumbled by 5.3% in pre-market trading in the U.S.