China Names TechInsights Unreliable Entity, Nvidia Inspections

China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday placed Canadian semiconductor research firm TechInsights and a group of overseas companies on its Unreliable Entity List and, in recent weeks, Chinese authorities have intensified customs inspections of imported advanced chips, including Nvidia processors, at major ports, officials and industry sources said. The dual moves reflect Beijing's heightened scrutiny of foreign technology amid a wider push to promote domestic semiconductor production and curb the flow of U.S.-origin components into sensitive sectors.

The ministry's announcement bars Chinese individuals and entities from engaging in transactions, cooperation or data sharing with the listed firms and includes TechInsights' subsidiaries overseas, officials said. The move follows recent technical analyses by TechInsights that identified advanced components from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix inside some Huawei Ascend artificial intelligence processors. The ministry said the entities on the list had engaged in activities it deemed harmful to China's sovereignty, security and development interests, including cooperation with Taiwanese...