China AI hardware stocks slump after news US plans to ban imports of Chinese components

China’s artificial intelligence hardware stocks slumped on Wednesday after news that the Trump administration is drafting a ban on US imports of ⁠new ⁠models of Chinese data centre components. 

The CSI300 Telecommunication Services Index tumbled 6 percent in early trading. 

Export-dependent data centre component makers including Zhongji Innolight (3308), Eoptolink Technology and Suzhou TFC Optical Communications all opened sharply lower. 

The US government is working on a measure to bar imports of new Chinese optical transceivers, which allow data to travel over fibre-optic cables at the speed of light within data centres, Reuters reported. 

The news threatens to hit already shaky confidence in China’s AI hardware stocks after a savage sell-off. 

Zhongji Innolight shares fell roughly 8 percent in both Shanghai and Hong Kong in early trading. The Chinese optical parts maker generated 62 percent of its revenue from the US in the first quarter. 

Reuters

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