A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has introduced a legislation to cut China’s access to specialised tools required to produce AI chips, amid Beijing’s calls for “self-reliance” in the technology.
The Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware (MATCH) Act, led by Representative Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), seeks to tighten export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment. If enacted, the bill would expand the categories of banned machinery and restrict the sale of associated services to China’s leading chipmakers.
The legislative push arrives as Beijing accelerates its efforts to build a self-sufficient silicon supply chain. Chinese imports of semiconductor machinery surged from $10.7 billion in 2016 to approximately $51.1 billion last year, according to data from the Silverado Policy Accelerator.
MATCH Act: Tightening the Screws
The bill represents the latest escalation in Washington DC’s years-long strategy to maintain a technological lead over Beijing. While the US has progressively tightened restrictions on finished AI chips, the MATCH Act shifts the focus to the foundational hardware used to manufacture them.
“The United States cannot afford to leave open back doors that allow the Chinese Communist Party to acquire the tools it needs to leap ahead in semiconductor manufacturing,” Baumgartner said in a statement. He emphasised that the goal is to protect “American innovation and security for the long haul”.
The success of the initiative depends heavily on international cooperation. The market for cutting-edge SME is dominated by a small cluster of companies based in the US, the Netherlands, and Japan. Consequently, the bill includes provisions to engage these allies in implementing similarly stringent restrictions to ensure the rules carry global force.
China’s ‘self-reliance’ push for AI
Chinese President Xi Jinping has identified chip manufacturing as a cornerstone of national security, calling for “self-reliance” in the face of Western pressure. In April, Xi urged the country to overcome challenges regarding “core technologies such as high-end chips”.
Despite these efforts, analysts suggest Beijing remains reliant on foreign expertise. “What [China] lacks is the technology and the knowledge to produce the most advanced chips,” Sarah Stewart, CEO of Silverado Policy Accelerator, told NBC News. “The United States, Japan, the Netherlands, and a pocketful of other countries do have that knowledge.”
The MATCH Bill comes at a complex time for trade policy. While the legistation seeks to harden the hardware blockade, the Trump administration has recently permitted the export of certain advanced finished chips to China. But lawmakers argue that controlling the means of production—the machines themselves—remains the most effective lever for preventing China from indigenising its semiconductor industry.
