[Edaily Reporter Choi Oh-hyun ] As the U.S. and Chinese leaders left export controls on advanced AI chips and semiconductor equipment as unresolved issues, K-Memory remains in a state of relief mixed with lingering tension. While concerns about an escalation of U.S.-China tensions in the short term have subsided, uncertainty surrounding K-Memory’s operations in China persists. Furthermore, U.S. export controls have inadvertently provided momentum for China’s push toward semiconductor self-reliance, creating a burden that South Korea cannot avoid.

According to industry sources on the 27th, the U.S. and China agreed during their recent summit to establish a bilateral channel to discuss the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence (AI). However, they maintained their existing positions without addressing the technology competition surrounding advanced semiconductors as a separate agenda item. In effect, semiconductor technology—which will determine AI supremacy—remains a domain of strategic competition.

Although the two leaders sat at the head table alongside NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su during the state dinner at the White House, there was no direct mention of semiconductor export controls. Chinese President Xi Jinping merely expressed some discomfort regarding U.S. semiconductor export controls during the summit, stating, “Rather than being wary of and defensive against each other, China and the U.S. should play to their respective strengths.”

As expected, the U.S. and China—the two leading AI powers—did not reach an agreement on semiconductors, and the domestic industry is breathing a sigh of relief for now. This is because the worst-case scenario—an extreme clash between the two nations in the advanced semiconductor sector—has been avoided. An industry official stated, “The situation is moving toward a phase of managed control within the U.S. framework for export controls on China,” adding, “There will be no short-term market shock.”

However, the fact that this issue was left off the agenda is not entirely positive from K-Memory’s perspective. This is because the Chinese operations of SamsungElectronics and SK hynix remain subject to regulatory risks. The U.S. currently permits the import of equipment needed for SamsungElectronics’ NAND plant in Xi’an, China, and SK hynix’s DRAM plant in Wuxi and NAND plant in Dalian, China, on an annual approval basis. The U.S. government’s National Security Science and Technology Strategy, announced last month, also explicitly stated its policy to continuously refine restrictions on U.S. investment in China’s semiconductor and AI sectors, as well as export controls on advanced technologies. This means the semiconductor industry is caught in the midst of a geopolitical crisis, forced to walk a tightrope between the U.S. and China.

An even greater concern is that U.S. export controls on AI chips and semiconductor equipment are fueling China’s push for semiconductor self-reliance. Just before the summit, CXMT, China’s largest DRAM manufacturer, began mass production using its fifth-generation DRAM process platform and unveiled two 24Gb LPDDR5X products based on this technology.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) analyzed that the absence of a semiconductor agenda at this summit was “because China’s level of semiconductor self-reliance has increased.” This is interpreted to mean that China’s technological self-reliance has reached a stage where imports of advanced equipment are no longer urgent.