China seeks sensitive data from US firms in semiconductor probe

China is demanding some US semiconductor firms submit sensitive information about their sales in the world’s largest chips market as part of its probe of American suppliers.

On Wednesday, China’s Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau under the Ministry of Commerce published questionnaires designed to gather intelligence for an anti-dumping investigation on certain American-made analog IC chips, the sort of products sold by Texas Instruments Inc. and Analog Devices Inc. The bureau seeks data on sales activities in China, including a comparison of the costs and profits for the investigated chips in their home country and the Asian nation.

While Chinese officials have yet to name any particular businesses, the initial probe and this latest development are seen as signals from Beijing of its ability to curtail trade for US firms in a reciprocal manner to US export curbs. It remains unclear which companies will be expected to fill out the questionnaires.


Among other requests, the Beijing fair-trade bureau asks for the names of Chinese customers and transaction details, including sales volumes and various costs from logistics to warehousing. The questionnaires ask for information on raw material suppliers working with these US chip firms. Companies will be given 37 days to provide their answers.

Texas Instruments and Analog Devices representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside of regular office hours.

China initiated two investigations targeting American chipmakers last month, while trade talks between the world’s two largest economies were underway. Semiconductors have become a focal point of the bilateral contest, as the US has cut off China’s access to the most advanced artificial intelligence accelerators and used the licensing of some less-powerful Nvidia Corp. hardware as a bargaining chip — though Chinese officials have pushed back and expressed reservations about security risks.

The analog chips that Beijing is now looking into are used to help digital systems interface with the real world, handling tasks like wireless signal amplification and power and voltage regulation. They don’t require cutting-edge chipmaking, but are essential in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to medical imaging.