New Turn in U.S. Trade Policy Over DeepSeek and CXMT

Staff Report | PNN

Despite national security concerns, the United States has temporarily stepped back from immediately imposing commercial sanctions on China’s emerging artificial intelligence company DeepSeek, memory chip manufacturer CXMT, and more than a hundred other firms. According to multiple sources cited by international media, Washington has taken this position in order to avoid further escalating ongoing diplomatic and trade tensions with Beijing.

It has been learned that a U.S. interagency review committee had already recommended last year that these companies be added to the Commerce Department’s “Entity List,” a trade restriction list. However, even after final approval, the list has still not been officially released.

U.S. officials have alleged that some activities of DeepSeek are linked to China’s military and intelligence sectors. There are also accusations that the company has used indirect methods to acquire advanced U.S. chip technology. However, DeepSeek has not issued any official comment regarding these allegations.

Meanwhile, CXMT is one of China’s largest memory chip manufacturers. Earlier, the U.S. Department of Defense had included the company in a list of Chinese military-linked entities, making Washington’s concerns about it long-standing.

Analysts say that once a company is placed on the U.S. “Entity List,” it requires special permission to receive American technology, software, or equipment exports—permissions that are usually very difficult to obtain. As a result, listed companies face significant pressure in the global technology supply chain.

However, the fact that no new companies have been added to the list in recent months has raised questions. Experts say that it is a rare occurrence for such a long gap—more than a decade—without new additions to the list.

Some security analysts argue that this delay may allow certain sensitive technologies to still reach Chinese companies. Concerns are particularly focused on advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and military-related technologies.

On the other hand, China’s Foreign Ministry has criticized the United States’ potential sanction policies, saying that economy and technology should not be used as tools of political competition. According to Beijing, pressuring Chinese companies under the pretext of national security undermines the normal environment of international trade.

Experts say that this development reflects a key aspect of the ongoing technological and geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. Washington is facing the challenge of balancing security concerns with economic and diplomatic relations.

Observers believe that any further changes in U.S. export control policy in the coming months will determine the future position of Chinese tech companies and the next phase of the technological competition between the two countries.