The restriction is aimed at closing a crucial loophole in the export controls the US implemented in October that allowed Chinese AI firms to access high-end chips through the cloud

The rules, set to come into effect on September 1, will require Dutch companies that make advanced chipmaking equipment to seek a licence before they can export it

Fresh export control rules being considered by the US will prohibit Nvidia from selling to China even those chips it specifically designed to meet earlier limits

Prosecutors say 65-year-old Choi Jinseog, once hailed as a star in Korea's chip industry, tapped Samsung’s supplier network to steal information on factory layouts, cleanroom management

The island's foreign minister said his government would not block investment in Europe, but the continent needed to "consider a broader picture" and think on Taiwan's 'situation'

The investment, in a chip packaging facility in the Chinese city of Xian, will include buying packaging equipment from a Xian-based subsidiary of Taiwan's Powertech Technology

The move will allow the chipmakers, which include Samsung, SK Hynix and TSMC, to continue to import US chipmaking tools to China for use in their existing fabs in the country

South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to support the South Korean chip sector in the face of heightened tensions between China and the United States

"The process of diversifying in different geographies is an excellent strategy by TSMC and so TSMC is now part of Nvidia's diversity and redundancy strategy," chief Jensen Huang said

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index of New York-listed mainland companies, consisting mainly of internet giants such as Alibaba Group, Baidu.com and JD.com, lost 5.6% this month

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the US "firmly opposes" the ban and that it is working closely with allies to address such "coercion"

South Korea is in the crosshairs of a tit-for-tat row between China and the United States over semiconductors