Sometimes you do, in fact, have to hand it to them. Last week the Biden administration imposed aggressive trade restrictions designed to prevent sharing next-generation microchip technology with China. The Department of Commerce announced the new export controls and de facto potential sanctions for China’s advanced semiconductor industry on October 7. The consequences for the global industry since these restrictions went into effect have been immediate and dramatic.

The ban on U.S. persons assisting Chinese chip manufacturers is particularly notable, as American citizens and Green Card holders have had to resign from positions at Chinese companies or recuse themselves from working with Chinese clients. While there is some debate about how much, the move is widely believed to seriously set back development of Chinese high technology, especially artificial intelligence research and applications.