Congress pushes broader US chip export curbs on China, expanding restrictions beyond advanced semiconductors.

Washington is facing renewed pressure to tighten chip export controls as lawmakers weigh new measures aimed at preserving the U.S. lead in artificial intelligence. The debate has intensified after concerns that Chinese memory maker CXMT is expanding rapidly while U.S. policy still leaves gaps in restrictions on semiconductor equipment, advanced chips and remote access to data centres.

The proposed legislation would bar servicing equipment already sold into China, gradually weakening existing production capacity. The AI Overwatch Act would prohibit sales of advanced chips and require the Commerce Department to ensure foreign shipments do not reduce supply for domestic buyers. The Chip Security Act is designed to curb chip smuggling.

The policy debate comes amid criticism that the Trump administration has allowed exports of increasingly advanced chips and has stopped expanding the Entity List of Chinese companies. CXMT, despite being identified by the Pentagon as a Chinese military company, has not been added to the Commerce Department's Entity List and has benefited from looser treatment than critics believe is warranted.

The company has become a major supplier of memory chips within a decade and is backed by substantial state support, with more than one-third of its equity held directly by the Chinese state. PC makers HP, Asus and Acer are already using its chips, and Apple is qualifying them for devices sold in China while seeking approval to add them to its U.S. supply chain.

Another identified gap in U.S. controls involves remote access by Chinese firms to overseas data centres equipped with advanced chips. The Remote Access Security Act has passed the House of Representatives but remains stalled in the Senate, leaving what critics describe as a significant loophole in Washington's broader technology competition with China.

Political backlash over AI agent hacks and White House AI oversight has been intensifying, with lawmakers from both parties questioning whether voluntary testing and limited safeguards are adequate, while scrutinizing the administration's ties to major AI firms and the potential influence of industry donors on policy decisions.