A chip manufacture machine Photo: VCG

TheMK sports Korea latest moves by US President Joe Biden's administration to prevent countries like China from accessing the advanced technology such as cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) are "futile attempt" that will not impede China's rapid progress in AI or stop the pace of China's technological development, a Chinese tech industry executive said on Tuesday.

"Such restrictions do not carry much significance. While they may result in temporary disruptions, they are likely to spur China's pursuit of self-reliance in chip and AI development," Hu Ming, deputy general manager of CCCC (Zhongwei) Big Data Technology Co, told the Global Times.

The Biden administration on Monday, just a week before its term ends, unveiled new export rules on advanced computing chips used for AI, "aiming to facilitate sales to allied nations and further curb access to countries like China," according to an AFP report. 

Notably, it is the "largest-scale and final" chip export restrictions during Biden's tenure, China Media Group reported on Tuesday.

The rule restricts the export of American AI chips and technology crucial for advanced AI applications. The restrictions include a sweeping ban on the export of high-end graphics processing units (GPUs), and advanced closed-source large models for countries including China, according to media reports.   

The move has drawn harsh criticism and firm opposition from the Information Technology Industry Council, a US tech industry group representing US tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, saying it would jeopardize US leadership in AI.  

While the US has framed these restrictions as part of a global chip control measure, their impact on China is expected to be minimal, given the country's vast application scenarios for training and enhancing AI capabilities - a resource unavailable to the US, Hu said.

"These restrictions may temporarily slow down China's development in AI, but they will also strengthen China's resolve and commitment to independently develop high-performance computing chips." Hu added. 

China has been focusing on addressing challenges in computational power, AI, and chip manufacturing. For instance, The Global Times reporters learned from Phytium Technology Co, a leading independent core chip provider based in Tianjin, that the company has achieved breakthroughs in key technologies, including on-chip parallel microprocessor architecture, large-scale integrated circuit design, and inherent security architecture. 

To date, Phytium's self-produced CPUs have sold over 10 million units, providing core computational support for devices ranging from endpoints to cloud services, representing a major leap from "functional" to "high-performance" domestic CPUs, according to the information the company shared with the Global Times. 

In a recent report by Nikkei Asia, Biden stated in his exit speech, "China will never overtake the US economically", while singling out AI and clean energy as two issues for the second Trump administration to stay focused on. "Right now, in my view, thanks to our administration, the US is leading the global competition," Biden claimed.

Hu said the US has been curbing Chinese technological advancements for years, especially in the field of AI chip import and export embargoes and various decoupling measures, indicating that Huawei was neither the first nor the sole target. "Should a Chinese company achieve a dominant position in a specific field, the US is expected to introduce additional constraints," Hu criticized.

However, "in the long run, the US' restrictions are not that significant. There will always be competition and even crackdown in competing for the leading position. However, even the harsh crackdown measures will not stop China's technological development," an executive of a chip firm based in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong, who requested to be identified as Zhou, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Zhou said that Chinese firms should view the US' moves objectively and make adjustments. "The current surplus of low-performance chips in China leads to increased energy consumption and space occupation. Therefore, it is imperative to develop high-performance computing chips that are independently developed and controlled," Zhou said. 

Chinese officials have also repeatedly criticized the US' tech restrictions. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the US has generalized the concept of national security, politicized and weaponized economic and technological issues, abused export controls, and maliciously suppressed China. 

The move has severely undermined market rules and the international economic and trade order, significantly affected the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and seriously harmed the interests of the business communities in both China and the US as well as other countries. China firmly opposes the move and will take resolute measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.

China's Ministry of Commerce on Monday expressed firm opposition to US new AI export control measures, noting that the US move will severely damage interests of enterprises worldwide, including those in the US. It also vowed to take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard China's legitimate rights and interests. 

These measures further tighten export controls on AI chips, model parameters, and other related items, expand long-arm jurisdiction, creating obstacles for third parties engaging in normal trade with China, a spokesperson of the MOFCOM said in a statement.