US lawmakers are moving to tighten semiconductor restrictions, with a bipartisan proposal targeting both equipment exports and downstream controls on advanced chips.

Generative AI is concentrating control of computing power within a narrow set of architectures and ecosystems. Wei Shaojun, chairman of the IC design branch of the China Semiconductor Industry Association and a professor at Tsinghua University, said AI competition now extends beyond hardware to control of rules and ecosystems, warning that continued reliance on existing systems could lock China into long-term dependence on critical technologies.