The Biden administration plans to restrict Chinese companies' access to U.S. cloud-computing services, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing sources, affecting Amazon.com, Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet and others.
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Google Cloud would have to get U.S. government approval to provide such cloud services that use advanced artificial-intelligence chips to Chinese customers.
The WSJ report comes a week after the Journal and others reported that the U.S. will expand AI chip export restrictions to China, affecting Nvidia and others. That follows chip export restrictions imposed last October. As a result of the October curbs, Nvidia tweaked certain AI chips to avoid those restrictions.
Some national security officials view AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud as a loophole that Chinese companies tap advanced AI chips from Nvidia and others.
Meanwhile, the latest U.S. chip curbs report follows China's late Monday move to restrict exports on key metals used in advanced chip manufacturing.
Earlier this year, China banned some key companies from buying chips from Micron Technology.
The tit-for-tat nature of the chip feud expands a growing separation between the U.S. and China.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to China this week, with the administration hoping to ease tensions. That follows a late June trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
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