China bans Intel and AMD

The US-China chip war is getting bitter and uglier. China has introduced new guidelines that will phase out US processors and software from its government computers and servers. The rules mean that CPUs from Intel and AMD, along with Microsoft Windows and foreign-made database software, will be replaced with homegrown alternatives.

China was Intel’s largest market last year, accounting for 27% of Team Blue’s $54 billion in sales. The Asian nation also generated $23 billion for AMD, representing 15% of its sales. The restrictions will have less of an impact on Microsoft, which counts on China for about 1.5% of its revenues.

The China Information Technology Security Evaluation Center published a list of these safe and reliable products. The CPUs all come from Chinese companies, including Huawei and Phytium, and cover a mixture of x86, Arm, and homegrown architectures.

India should, for now, grab this opportunity to enter the field and secure its position soon. However, in the longer term (in another 15–20 years), India should also aim for self-reliance in semiconductor manufacturing field and not fully rely on the USA alone.