Micron playing a double game ends up backfiring: media

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China has limited the sale of products from American chip maker Micron Technology due to failure to pass its cybersecurity review. It is sending a clear message that companies assisting and instigating the US government should think twice, and the cost of losing the huge Chinese market is painful, said an op-ed by South China Morning Post on Monday.

In a statement made by the Cyberspace Administration of China on May 21, severe hidden security problems have been found in Micron's products, which might threaten the security of the nation’s key information infrastructure.

Though the move signifies a significant countermeasure by China, it appears “remarkably measured” compared to a sweeping set of export controls and tech sanctions imposed by the United States, according to the article.

“It is ironic Washington is now accusing Beijing of not keeping its word about openness, in light of what many observers have termed its ‘chip war’ against China,” it said.

The opinion piece pointed out that Micron, as per records, has lobbied the US government at least 170 times over the past five years on issues related to competing with China. Micron bosses made the calculation aiming to enhance market dominance while discouraging domestic chip-making in China, the article claimed. It added that Washington has blacklisted some of Micron’s Chinese counterparts on memory chip manufacturing, which are deemed either its direct or potential competitors.

“Playing a double game like Micron will just backfire,” the article warned.

China’s restrictions could ultimately result in this semiconductor giant being shut out of the Chinese market, according to the analysis. Besides, it is reported that the Biden administration has been pressuring the South Korean government and Samsung not to attempt to fill the supply gap left by Micron, but it is unclear whether South Korea will succumb to the US demands.

Meanwhile, some domestic chip suppliers in China have already made significant progress and show enough confidence to rely on the country’s own suppliers to replace key components, the editorial wrote.

Despite the short-term impact on China’s chip makers, “longer term, though, it will spur them on to achieve self-sufficiency,” the article concluded.