Experts say the decision of the U.S. to ban Intel from selling its Xeon chips to China can ultimately spur an acceleration in the growth of the Chinese chip making industry. (Photo : Reuters)
Industry experts have slammed the U.S. government for its decision to block Intel and others from exporting thousands of microprocessor chips to four supercomputing centers in China that are associated with Tianhe-2, the fastest supercomputer in the world today, Xinhua reported.
The chips will be used to upgrade Tianhe-2, which was built by China's National University of Defense Technology and IT firm Inspur.
The machine took the top spot in Top 500's ranking of world's fastest computers from 2013 to 2014, SiliconBeat said.
The U.S. Department of Commerce released a notice online, saying it rejected the export application because Tianhe-2 and other Chinese supercomputers are believed to be used for "nuclear explosive activities."
The agency added that the four centers where the supercomputers would be located are "acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States," BBC reported.
The facilities affected by the export restrictions include the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha, and the National Supercomputing Centers in Guangzhou, Tianjin and Changsha.
Tianhe-2 designers said that the supercomputer is mostly used for scientific projects. Intel, on the other hand, said it is "in compliance with the U.S. law" and the Intel products being used for Tianhe-2 are available worldwide.
The export restriction was criticized by Top500 list editor Jack Dongarra and supercomputer expert Horst Simon, deputy director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
"The U.S. government is trying to stop the spread of high performance computer systems in China," Dongarra said. "The ban will probably accelerate the development of a processor designed in China for use in high performance computers."
"The Chinese will be more incentivized to develop their own technology, and U.S. manufacturers will be seen as less reliable and potentially not able to satisfy foreign orders," Simon told the Wall Street Journal.
