Samsung, SK Hynix Invest in China, Irks US

[ABS News Service/03.10.2026]

House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-Mich) is raising concerns about South Korea's growing investment with China, saying it could lead to Beijing gaining access to US semiconductor technology.

In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mr. Moolenaar cited national security concerns from Korean semiconductor investment inside China and discriminatory treatment of US firms compared to Chinese companies.

The lawmaker said closer ties between Beijing and Seoul also could undermine US export control laws. “Beijing has paired this engagement with a push to expand bilateral communication mechanisms on export controls and supply chains,” he wrote.

“Whatever their stated purpose, such channels create a parallel architecture to allied export control coordination, one in which the PRC obtains visibility into allied policy deliberations – all while China’s critical mineral export controls are tantamount to an economic declaration of war against the United States.”

“This engagement is taking place against the backdrop of continued ROK technology and supply chain exposure to PRC coercion. The ROK’s largest firms retain deep manufacturing exposure in the PRC. Samsung’s NAND memory facility in Xi’an and SK Hynix’s DRAM operations in Wuxi and NAND production in Dalian pose serious points of CCP leverage against allied global supply chains,” he continued.