Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party have reached out to major semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) companies. They are seeking information regarding these companies' sales to China, highlighting concerns about how such transactions could benefit China's military capabilities and its domestic chip production.

The lawmakers sent letters to KLA, Applied Materials, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, and ASML. In their communication, they expressed concern over reports that "the PRC now purchases more semiconductor manufacturing equipment than the United States, South Korea, and Taiwan combined." This situation could potentially support "the PRC supply chips to Russia’s war machine" and pose a threat to neighboring regions like Taiwan.

Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi also addressed industry apprehensions about U.S. export controls affecting competitiveness. They stated that "enhanced export controls simply are not mutually exclusive with a robust and thriving SME industry."

The inquiry includes several questions directed at these companies. They request detailed financial data from FY2022 through YTD FY2024 concerning revenue from China, including transactions requiring U.S. export licenses or involving entities on specific U.S. government lists. The lawmakers also seek information on company operations related to export control compliance in China and global manufacturing footprints.

This move by Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi underscores ongoing concerns about strategic competition between the United States and China in critical technology sectors.