Welcome back. It's great to have your company again. This is Mlex's podcast covering the top stories in regulatory affairs with the help of our team of reporters and analysts around the world.

My name is James Panicki. I'm an Emlex senior editor.

Today we're taking a closer look at what's arguably the biggest story that Emlex is covering at

the moment. The US has imposed stricter export controls that are likely to have a ripple effect on China's

semiconductor industry, and in particular it's likely to reverberate in China's merger decisions.

Why is that, I hear you ask. What's the link? Well, as we're about to hear,

China's merger decisions for the industry are predicated on the need to ensure that domestic

supply commitments are maintained. If the US turns the tap on its technology and limits China's

access to advanced computing chips, that amounts to serious disruption. All of this has left

China's state administration for market regulation, referred to by

the acronym SAMHSAMA, to review existing remedies and to check out how companies that have already

been affected by remedies are coping with the US export bans. There's so much to unpack here,

but luckily for us, M-Mex's China-based analyst, Yang Wei,

has been keeping an eye on the story, and she joins me now.

So, Wei, firstly, tell us of this connection between the US export bans on the one hand

and China's merger regime on the other.

Okay.

On October 7, actually, it was the last day of China's week-long national holidays.

The U.S. issued new expanded restrictions on certain advanced computing and semiconductor-related

products.

Lawyers noted the new restrictions are among the toughest the U.S. has enacted.

Actually, it is not new for the U.S. to curb China's high-tech sector, but with more intensive

...