The Joe Biden administration plans to put China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies and dozens of other companies on a trade blacklist that would prevent them from buying certain American components.

The US commerce department will add Yangtze Memory and 35 other Chinese companies to the so-called Entity List as early as this week, according to a person familiar with deliberations who asked not to be named discussing a sensitive matter.

Companies on the Entity List are blocked from buying technology from US suppliers unless they get a special export licence from the commerce department.

A representative for Yangtze Memory declined to comment.

The move would represent the latest escalation in the US-China conflict over technology. The Biden administration unveiled a sweeping set of restrictions on China’s ability to buy semiconductors and chip-making equipment in October, putting Yangtze Memory and other companies on a list for further scrutiny at the time.

The Chinese government had appeared to be cooperating with US authorities to prevent Yangtze Memory and other firms from being added to the Entity List. That involved working with the US government to disclose certain information about the companies’ products and operations. — Jenny Leonard, with Gao Yuan, (c) 2022 Bloomberg LP