iPhone 14 will use Chinese chips? U.S. lawmakers warn Apple not to 'play with fire'

 

iPhone 14 will use Chinese chips? U.S. lawmakers warn Apple not to 'play with fire':

After Apple plans to order chips from China's Yangtze River Storage to power its new iPhone 14 smartphones, top U.S. congressional lawmakers have warned the company will face scrutiny from the U.S. government if it insists on working with Chinese chip companies.

According to a previous report by South Korean media BusinessKorea, Apple has included China’s Yangtze River Storage in the list of NAND flash memory suppliers for the iPhone 14. According to the "Financial Times" report on September 9 , US Republican Senator Marco Rubio (Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL) and Republican Congressman Michael McCaul (Rep. Michael McCaul, R-TX) was concerned about the news.

Rubio is the vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. "Apple is playing with fire," he told the Financial Times.

"If it (Apple) continues like this, it will be subject to unprecedented scrutiny from the federal government," he said. "We cannot allow Chinese companies that are under the command of the Communist Party to access our telecommunications networks and the iPhones of millions of Americans."

Apple told the Financial Times that it does not currently use YMTC chips in any of its products, but at the same time said it is "evaluating sourcing NAND chips from YMTC for some iPhones sold in China" and will not consider using YMTC chips in China. Chips from YMTC are used on mobile phones sold outside of China. All user data stored on the NAND chips they use is "fully encrypted," the company said.

Apple's current NAND flash memory mainly comes from South Korea's Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Japan's Kioxia. Industry analysts believe that Apple's consideration of adding YMTC to its supplier list is to expand the diversity of its supply chain and help win over its relationship with the Chinese market.

NAND flash memory is a commonly used low-capacity storage device for electronic devices that have certain requirements for power consumption, weight, and performance. US technology website Tom's Hardware reports that it will take a while for YMTC's latest products to mature and make their way into Apple's other products, such as iPads and Mac computers.

YMTC's close ties to the Chinese government and military have also drawn scrutiny from the U.S. government. It was previously reported that the White House and the U.S. Commerce Department were investigating allegations that YMTC supplied chips to Chinese telecom equipment group Huawei as a possible violation of U.S. sanctions against Huawei.

Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Financial Times: "YMTC has extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the military. There is credible evidence that YMTC's sales to Huawei violated export controls. Regulations.” He said: “Apple’s approach is effectively transferring knowledge and expertise to YMTC, which will enhance their ability to help the CCP achieve its national goals.”

The Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, said that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also privately expressed concerns about YMTC to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimond. worry. Prior to this, important senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties urged the Biden administration in July this year to include YMTC on the "entity list" of the U.S. Department of Commerce because of the company's ties to Huawei and the huge amount of money the Chinese government has made against it all year round.