logo
Tech war: US chip design software firm Synopsys halts China sales

Tech war: US chip design software firm Synopsys halts China sales

Semiconductor design software firm Synopsys has told staff in China to halt services and sales in the country and stop taking new orders to comply with new US export restrictions, according to an internal letter reviewed by Reuters.
Advertisement
The US had ordered a broad swathe of companies to
stop shipping goods to China without a licence and revoked licences already granted to certain suppliers, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Products affected include design software and chemicals for semiconductors, they said.
Synopsys on Thursday suspended its annual and quarterly forecasts after it received a letter from the Bureau of Industry and Security of the US Department of Commerce, informing it of new export restrictions related to China.
The internal letter sent to staff in China on Friday said 'based on our initial interpretation, these new restrictions broadly prohibit the sales of our products and services in China and are effective as of May 29, 2025'.
Advertisement
To ensure compliance, Synopsys said it was blocking sales and fulfilment in China and halting new orders until it received further clarification.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Gay Chinese couple fulfil wedding dream in ‘freer' Thailand: ‘more inclusive to our community'
Gay Chinese couple fulfil wedding dream in ‘freer' Thailand: ‘more inclusive to our community'

South China Morning Post

time38 minutes ago

  • South China Morning Post

Gay Chinese couple fulfil wedding dream in ‘freer' Thailand: ‘more inclusive to our community'

When Wang Zengyi, 41, and Song Jihan, 29, first met at a friend's dinner party in China , it was love at first sight. 'I thought he was handsome and pure,' says Wang. 'Our love has deepened over time.' Nearly three years later, the gay Chinese couple are getting married in Thailand , which became Asia's largest nation to legalise same-sex marriage earlier this year – including for foreign couples. They are among the first Chinese LGBTQ pairs to tie the knot in the Southeast Asian country as it celebrates its first Pride since the law's passage. 'Thailand is a freer country,' said Wang after they signed their marriage certificate at a Bangkok registry office. 'It's also more inclusive to our community.' He believes they are the first gay Chinese couple to host a full wedding ceremony in Thailand, but that 'gradually' more will follow in their footsteps.

Springtime for China's engineers and scientists. In US, not so much
Springtime for China's engineers and scientists. In US, not so much

South China Morning Post

time42 minutes ago

  • South China Morning Post

Springtime for China's engineers and scientists. In US, not so much

Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT which side is winning the chip war. It replied that it was too early to say, characterising it as 'a complex and ongoing situation with no clear winner yet'. Impressive! Advertisement But while that may be true at a competitive national level, it seems pretty clear that individually, engineers and researchers in chips and other related tech fields have received a great boost in career and prestige in China, likewise the firms and research institutes that hire them. It's rather different in the United States. The situation is not an accident, but rooted in the respective national or state policies of Beijing and Washington. Consider the technical or industrial responses of China to Washington's chip war. They involve increased domestic production in the semiconductor industry to achieve self-sufficiency; reducing reliance on foreign technology, especially from the US; massive resource commitment to advanced chip research and manufacturing; strategic state subsidies; and ramping up even legacy and less advanced chips. The latter is necessary both to try to squeeze the most computing power out of older chips – in the absence of the most advanced ones – and to counter US restrictions that now target even less powerful chips and software. China therefore needs more and more engineers and researchers. Contrast that with US chip policy, which focuses on trade restrictions, sanctions and regulations, not to mention the White House's crackdowns on elite universities. Advertisement They aim to deny China's access to advanced chips, technology, and manufacturing equipment, and are being applied not only to US firms but those of allied countries such as the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. As a result, they severely hamper their business in the world's biggest chip market, as well as their ability to fund future research and development. The latest trade restriction against China will reportedly cover chip design software, also known as electronic design automation. Germany's Siemens, a big player in this specialised field, will be affected.

Harvard Chinese student's graduation speech strikes a chord as Trump leads crackdown
Harvard Chinese student's graduation speech strikes a chord as Trump leads crackdown

South China Morning Post

timean hour ago

  • South China Morning Post

Harvard Chinese student's graduation speech strikes a chord as Trump leads crackdown

A Chinese student's graduation speech at Harvard University emphasising 'shared humanity' and calling for global unity has gone viral, days after the Trump administration pledged to ' aggressively ' revoke the visas of students from China. Advertisement Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang is the first Chinese woman selected to be the student speaker at a Harvard graduation ceremony. Her emotional speech on Thursday was delivered on the same day that a federal judge blocked a Department of Homeland Security order seeking to prevent the Ivy League university from enrolling international students. US President Donald Trump's showdown with Harvard – which the White House accuses of maintaining ties with the Chinese Communist Party – unfolds against the backdrop of deepening US-China tensions The US State Department announced last week that it would intensify screening and 'aggressively' revoke student visas for Chinese nationals, including 'those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields'. Advertisement The move is widely believed to stem from Washington's long-standing concerns that Chinese students enrolled in advanced science and engineering programmes could be involved in espionage activities that bolster Beijing's military capabilities, posing a significant national security threat.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store