China blocks use of Intel and AMD chips in government computers: Report

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Motivations for the Ban

  • Security concerns over hidden firmware/backdoors such as Intel Management Engine and AMD Platform Security Processor; some note even the NSA has sought to remove these in sensitive contexts.
  • View that every major power wants its own trusted hardware/firmware stack; foreign CPUs are inherently suspect.
  • Others see it as tit-for-tat against US sanctions (Huawei, export controls on advanced chips) and a tool to force domestic self‑reliance and industrial policy.

Scope: “Government Computers”

  • Many emphasize the rule targets government systems only, not ordinary citizens.
  • Some argue this is manageable, analogous to US “Buy American” rules for government procurement.
  • Others note that in China the line between state and “private” enterprises is blurry, so real scope is unclear.

Domestic Alternatives & Technical Readiness

  • Loongson (MIPS), Zhaoxin (x86), Huawei ARM, and Sunway for supercomputers are cited as current options.
  • Performance is generally described as around half of top Intel/AMD parts or several years behind, but “good enough” for office workloads.
  • Chinese OSes like Kylin and UOS reportedly support these chips; questions remain about ecosystem maturity and software porting effort.
  • RISC‑V is seen as promising but not yet ready at scale; Alibaba server‑grade RISC‑V is mentioned as upcoming.

Backdoors, Root of Trust, and Motherboards

  • Some say the real risk is in chipsets/firmware and “root of trust,” not just CPUs.
  • Discussion of hidden cores, obscure instructions, and hard‑to‑detect hardware vulnerabilities; disagreement on how feasible it is to hide such backdoors long‑term.
  • Several conclude that for ordinary users, hardware free of any spying is effectively unavailable.

Geopolitical and Economic Implications

  • Seen as part of broader decoupling and a new “Cold War” that could damage global supply chains and growth.
  • Debate over whether embargoes and bans will spur China to catch up faster (Japan analogy) or whether structural issues (demographics, corruption, reliance on foreign know‑how) will limit it.
  • Some expect this will accelerate Chinese CPU and software efficiency; others think it may be mostly symbolic or hard to fully enforce in complex government IT stacks.