On Wednesday (December 4th), the three major indices of Hong Kong stocks collectively rose, with the semiconductor sector standing out significantly. The stock price of Hong Guang Semiconductor (HK:6908) increased by more than 5%, SMIC (HK:0981) rose by over 3%, and other related stocks like Solomon Semiconductor followed suit. This comes at a time when U.S. sanctions on semiconductor exports to China are intensifying, once again turning the market's attention to the U.S.-China technological rivalry.
On December 2nd, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released a revision of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), further tightening export controls in the semiconductor field by adding 140 Chinese entities to the "entity list," most of which are semiconductor companies from Mainland China. This move has heightened tensions in the global semiconductor supply chain and imposed greater pressures on China's semiconductor industry.
In response to U.S. sanctions, four major Chinese industry associations—the China Internet Association, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the China Semiconductor Industry Association, and the China Communications Industry Association—jointly issued a statement on December 3rd. They urged domestic companies to exercise caution in purchasing American chips to avoid over-dependence on U.S. technology and promote self-sufficiency in domestic industry chains.
CITIC Securities issued a report stating that although the U.S. Department of Commerce's updates on semiconductor export control policies and the entity list mainly target Chinese semiconductor companies and continue to employ a "high walls and small yard" strategy aimed at restricting China's advanced semiconductor progress, the market has already anticipated these developments. Related companies have prepared in advance, thereby minimizing the immediate impact. CITIC Securities believes that despite the increased sanctions, the long-term development of China's semiconductor industry will still accelerate the localization process, and the construction of domestic alternative technologies and supply chains will continue to advance.
These actions indicate that the U.S.-China technological contest will intensify over the foreseeable future. U.S. sanction policies may not only impact the short-term trends of the semiconductor industry but also profoundly affect the restructuring of China's industrial chain and the pursuit of technological self-reliance.
