U.S. Sanctions Derail China Chipmakers' Expansion Plans

Yangtze Memory and ChangXin forced to delay new factories and lay off staff

Sweeping export bans imposed by the U.S. last fall have held up plans by major Chinese chipmakers to expand operations, dealing a setback to the government's ambitions to make the country a semiconductor powerhouse.

Uncertainty was the prevailing mood during a visit to the massive flagship production site of Yangtze Memory Technologies, about 40 kilometers east of central Wuhan. Both YMTC engineers and technicians at the site to deliver manufacturing equipment had no idea when its second plant, originally slated to start up in late 2022, would actually come online.