Instead of American chips, domestic solutions such as Huawei and SMIC are now to be preferred. This measure should both boost Chinese industrial production and research, and reduce dependence on Western equipment, while guaranteeing the country's technological sovereignty in this crucial sector.

This is a major blow for American manufacturers: the Chinese market accounted for 27% of Intel's sales in 2023 (its largest market) and 15% of AMD's sales. The impact is less severe for Microsoft, for whom the Middle Kingdom accounts for just 1.5% of revenues. Following the announcement, Intel and AMD shares fell sharply.

The measure is not insignificant either for the Chinese government, which, according to the FT, will have to invest $91 billion over 4 years to modify the IT infrastructure of the government, party organs and eight major industries.

Design by Amandine Victor