The U.S. goal is not to bring about the “economic destruction of China” or a full decoupling of trade, Estevez told a briefing at the Center for a New American Security. But he said the Biden administration is “not done” considering additional technology exports to regulate.
“I also keep getting asked ‘When will that China review be done?’ And that China review will be done when the Chinese change their behavior,” Estevez said. “So we are going to continue to look at not just what we did with semiconductors, but other areas that the Chinese are using to threaten the United States and its allies.”
Areas “on my radar” for possible additional export controls, Estevez said, include quantum computing, biotechnology and artificial intelligence.
The latest rules, enacted Oct. 7, restrict sales to China of advanced computer chips and the equipment needed to manufacture them. Estevez said the administration is close to getting allies to join the restrictions, which would further cut China’s access to Western technology.
“It’s not just me, it’s the national security adviser, the secretary of Commerce are all on the phone working this,” he said. “So we expect to have a deal done in the near term.”
The restrictions are causing a major hit to U.S. tech companies, which have come to rely on China as a major export market. KLA Corp., a California-based company that sells chip-manufacturing equipment, this week said the restrictions could deprive it of $600 million to $900 million of revenue next year.
In recent days, another big equipment supplier, the Dutch company ASML, told its U.S. employees to stop installing or servicing equipment at any Chinese chip factory while it sorts through the new rules. And Applied Materials said the export restrictions will prevent it from completing sales of roughly $400 million in the fourth quarter.
