A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has introduced legislation to cut off China’s access to specialized equipment needed to produce AI chips, amid Beijing’s calls for “self-reliance” in technology.
The Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware (MATCH) Act, led by Representative Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), seeks to tighten export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment. If enacted, the bill would expand the categories of restricted machinery and restrict the sale of related services to China’s major chip makers.
The legislative pressure comes as Beijing is accelerating its efforts to build a self-reliant silicon supply chain. Chinese imports of semiconductor machinery rose from $10.7 billion in 2016 to nearly $51.1 billion last year, according to data from the Silverado Policy Accelerator.
Match Act: Screwing Up
The bill represents the latest escalation in Washington DC’s years-long strategy to maintain a technological edge over Beijing. While the US has gradually tightened restrictions on off-the-shelf AI chips, the MATCH Act focuses on the foundational hardware used to make them.
“The United States cannot leave open backdoors that allow the Chinese Communist Party to acquire the equipment it needs to advance in semiconductor manufacturing,” Baumgartner said in a statement. He emphasized that the goal is to protect “American innovation and security over the long term.”
The success of the initiative largely depends on international cooperation. The market for cutting-edge SMEs is dominated by a small group of companies based in the US, the Netherlands and Japan. As a result, the bill includes provisions to engage these allies in implementing equally stringent sanctions to give global force to the rules.
China’s emphasis on ‘self-reliance’ for AI
Chinese President Xi Jinping has identified chip manufacturing as a cornerstone of national security, calling for “self-reliance” in the face of Western pressure. In April, Xi urged the country to overcome challenges related to “key technologies such as high-end chips”.
Despite these efforts, analysts suggest that Beijing remains dependent on foreign expertise. “What [China] There is a lack of technology and knowledge to make the most advanced chips,” Sarah Stewart, CEO of the Silverado Policy Accelerator, told NBC News. “The United States, Japan, the Netherlands and some other countries have this knowledge.”
The MATCH Bill comes at a complex time for trade policy. While legislation seeks to tighten the hardware blockade, the Trump administration recently allowed the export of some advanced finished chips to China. But lawmakers argue that controlling the means of production – the machines themselves – is the most effective way to prevent China from indigenizing its semiconductor industry.