US sanctions 28 quantum computing entities in China, Russia, Pakistan, Japan
The US Department of Commerce has sanctioned 28 organizations from China, Russia, Pakistan, Japan, and Singapore for helping advance and distribute quantum computing technologies to military and nuclear weapons programs.
"Global trade and commerce should support peace, prosperity, and good-paying jobs, not national security risks," said US Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo in a press release on Wednesday.
"Today's actions will help prevent the diversion of US technologies to the PRC's and Russia's military advancement and activities of non-proliferation concern like Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities or ballistic missile program," Raimondo added.
The 28 entities and the reasons given by the Commerce Department are listed below. The Russian organization was added to the Department's Military End-User (MEU) sanction list, while the rest were added to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) list.
| Entity | Country | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Corad Technology Pte Ltd. | Singapore | Sales of technology from the United States and other Western nations to Iran's military and space programs, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) front companies, and Chinese government and defense industry subordinate entities. |
| Corad Technology Japan K.K. | Japan | Sales of technology from the United States and other Western nations to Iran's military and space programs, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) front companies, and Chinese government and defense industry subordinate entities. |
| Corad Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd.; | China | Sales of technology from the United States and other Western nations to Iran's military and space programs, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) front companies, and Chinese government and defense industry subordinate entities. |
| Hangzhou Zhongke Microelectronics Co., Ltd. | China | Support of the military modernization of the People's Liberation Army. |
| Hunan Goke Microelectronics | China | Support of the military modernization of the People's Liberation Army. |
| New H3C Semiconductor Technologies Co., Ltd. | China | Support of the military modernization of the People's Liberation Army. |
| Xi'an Aerospace Huaxun Technology | China | Support of the military modernization of the People's Liberation Army. |
| Yunchip Microelectronics | China | Support of the military modernization of the People's Liberation Army. |
| Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale | China | Acquiring and attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of military applications. |
| QuantumCTek Co. | China | Acquiring and attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of military applications. |
| Shanghai QuantumCTeck Co., Ltd. | China | Acquiring and attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of military applications. |
| Al-Qertas | Pakistan | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| Q&N Traders | Pakistan | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| U.H.L. Company | Pakistan | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| Jiuding Refrigeration & Air-conditioning Equipment Co (Pvt) Ltd | Pakistan | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| K-SOFT Enterprises | Pakistan | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| Seljuk Traders (SMC-Private) Limited | Pakistan | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| Global Tech Engineers | Pakistan | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| Asay Trade & Supplies | Pakistan | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| Jade Machinery Pvt. Ltd. | Pakistan | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| Shaanxi Zhi En Electromechanical Technology Co., Ltd | China | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| Peaktek Company Ltd. | China | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| Poly Asia Pacific Ltd. (PAPL) | China | Contributions to Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities. |
| Broad Engineering | Pakistan | Contributions to Pakistan's ballistic missile program |
| Prime Tech | Pakistan | Procuring items subject to the EAR on behalf of Techlinks, an entity located in Pakistan that was added to the Entity List in September 2018 |
| Muhammad Ashraf (Prima Tech employee) | Pakistan | Procuring items subject to the EAR on behalf of Techlinks, an entity located in Pakistan that was added to the Entity List in September 2018 |
| Muhammad Farrukh (Prima Tech employee) | Pakistan | Procuring items subject to the EAR on behalf of Techlinks, an entity located in Pakistan that was added to the Entity List in September 2018 |
| Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology | Russia | Aiding Russia's military programs. |
The role of the sanctions list is to forbid US organizations, such as suppliers and customers, from establishing any business connections with the 28 organizations in the hopes of stymying the flow of know-how, financing, and raw materials needed for those companies to continue operating at full capacity.
US companies can apply for a sanction to deal with any of the entities, but they will most likely be denied.
The sanctions against companies working on quantum computing technologies come as the Department of Commerce previously sanctioned eight Chinese supercomputing organizations the US had claimed were helping China advance its military program.
Quantum computers are considered an evolutional step above supercomputers, using quantum states instead of electrical signals to run mathematical computations millions of times faster than even the world's most advanced supercomputers.
While the technology has been under research and development for decades, the first functional quantum computers have started operating in the US, Japan, and China in recent years, with experts predicting a new -age arms race among the world's top countries to gain access to the most advanced quantum systems for military and space applications.
This week's sanctions come as the Chinese government has also been pushing its local tech sector for "self-sufficiency and self-empowerment" in a clear move to isolate its tech sector and its supply chain from the US in what appears to be developing into a new technological Cold War.
Catalin Cimpanu
is a cybersecurity reporter who previously worked at ZDNet and Bleeping Computer, where he became a well-known name in the industry for his constant scoops on new vulnerabilities, cyberattacks, and law enforcement actions against hackers.