20 votes

US government reportedly ponders crimping China's use of RISC-V

19 comments

  1. [15]
    Luna
    Link
    The double-think is both impressive and terrifying. Congress will destroy open source in the name of spiting China.

    "While the benefits of open source collaboration on RISC-V promise to be significant, it can only be realized when contributors are working with the sole aim of improving the technology, and not aiding the geopolitical interests of the PRC," the representatives wrote in a November 2023 letter that called for creation of a "robust ecosystem for open source collaboration among the US and our allies while ensuring the PRC is unable to benefit from that work."

    That's code for "Banning sales of chips to China won't work if Beijing can build its own using RISC-V." The Committee members therefore called on US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo to consider what might be done about RISC-V.

    The double-think is both impressive and terrifying. Congress will destroy open source in the name of spiting China.

    30 votes
    1. tibpoe
      Link Parent
      Honestly, it doesn't sound like the members of congress even understand what RISC-V is. It's not a CPU design, and high-performance RISC-V CPU designs are proprietary. It's literally just a big...

      Honestly, it doesn't sound like the members of congress even understand what RISC-V is. It's not a CPU design, and high-performance RISC-V CPU designs are proprietary. It's literally just a big PDF file and computer-readable equivalents to it.

      27 votes
    2. [13]
      updawg
      Link Parent
      That's fine with me. China is currently the greatest threat to global peace. I'm not saying other countries don't do anything wrong, but China is constantly threatening and building a military...

      That's fine with me. China is currently the greatest threat to global peace. I'm not saying other countries don't do anything wrong, but China is constantly threatening and building a military with the sole aim to invade Taiwan. That's before you consider the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people, their illegal overfishing that is destroying the oceans' ecosystems, and the human trafficking and slavery that is tied up in both, as well as the predatory Belt and Road Initiative that is solely aimed at making other countries completely dependent on China because their economies have been ruined by predatory loans. If you think what the US does is bad, baby, you ain't seen nothin yet.

      9 votes
      1. [8]
        teaearlgraycold
        Link Parent
        Wouldn’t perhaps Russia, who is actually invading a country right now, be a bigger threat to global peace? I know China has a lot more money but they haven’t crossed the same threshold of land...

        Wouldn’t perhaps Russia, who is actually invading a country right now, be a bigger threat to global peace? I know China has a lot more money but they haven’t crossed the same threshold of land reclamation.

        20 votes
        1. nukeman
          Link Parent
          My view is that Russia is in the short-term, China is in the long-term (especially in the event of a Russian collapse where they gain those information warfare capabilities).

          My view is that Russia is in the short-term, China is in the long-term (especially in the event of a Russian collapse where they gain those information warfare capabilities).

          13 votes
        2. [6]
          updawg
          Link Parent
          No, because Russia is preening and posturing as if they would invade elsewhere, but they're really only causing more in Ukraine. China, on the other hand is threatening a war that would involve...

          No, because Russia is preening and posturing as if they would invade elsewhere, but they're really only causing more in Ukraine. China, on the other hand is threatening a war that would involve countries all over the world. Taiwan has a great worldwide geopolitical significance. Ukraine produces a lot of wheat, but doesn't have the geopolitical significance of the country that produces all of the great semiconductors. Russia knew they could invade Ukraine because it doesn't have so much of a global impact that other countries would get drawn into the war. China knows they would essentially be starting another world war.

          4 votes
          1. [5]
            MimicSquid
            Link Parent
            I'd argue that Ukraine isn't that irrelevant to global security. They produced 10% of the world's wheat, 15% of the corn, 13% of the barley, and exported more than 35% of the world's sunflower...

            I'd argue that Ukraine isn't that irrelevant to global security. They produced 10% of the world's wheat, 15% of the corn, 13% of the barley, and exported more than 35% of the world's sunflower oil. Yes, there are other sources of food, but they're not an insignificant share of the total global food supply. So they're only as irrelevant to global security as food prices are.

            10 votes
            1. [4]
              updawg
              Link Parent
              They were certainly irrelevant enough that no one joined the war on their side, which is what all these other countries are saying they would do with an invasion of Taiwan

              They were certainly irrelevant enough that no one joined the war on their side, which is what all these other countries are saying they would do with an invasion of Taiwan

              4 votes
              1. [3]
                MimicSquid
                Link Parent
                While it's true that no official military forces from other nations have visibly taken part in the fighting, I think it's a little facile to say that no one joined the war on their side. The...

                While it's true that no official military forces from other nations have visibly taken part in the fighting, I think it's a little facile to say that no one joined the war on their side. The billions of dollars of military and non-military aid and skilled personnel that have been provided to Ukraine are definitely the actions of nations that are taking sides in the conflict.

                7 votes
                1. [2]
                  updawg
                  Link Parent
                  Yes, but in the context of China potentially starting a World War, no one has joined in on the side of Ukraine. Let's not nitpick. What China wants to do is on another level well beyond what...

                  Yes, but in the context of China potentially starting a World War, no one has joined in on the side of Ukraine. Let's not nitpick. What China wants to do is on another level well beyond what Russia has done with Ukraine. that's not to minimize the significance of Ukraine, that's just to underline the significance of Taiwan.

                  4 votes
                  1. MimicSquid
                    Link Parent
                    There aren't, to my knowledge, any guarantees that anyone will come to Taiwan's defense if China attacks it. Would you expand on your thinking regarding what world war China is on the edge of...

                    There aren't, to my knowledge, any guarantees that anyone will come to Taiwan's defense if China attacks it. Would you expand on your thinking regarding what world war China is on the edge of starting? Is your position that Taiwan's independence from China is vital enough for global chip infrastructure that nations without specific security guarantees would fight China to maintain Taiwan's independence?

                    8 votes
      2. [2]
        IudexMiku
        Link Parent
        They are pretty bad, there's no point downplaying it. They've been supporting a genocide (which is raising tensions with Iran), planning to fight over Taiwan, and have spent the last several...

        If you think what the US does is bad, baby, you ain't seen nothin yet.

        They are pretty bad, there's no point downplaying it. They've been supporting a genocide (which is raising tensions with Iran), planning to fight over Taiwan, and have spent the last several decades destabilising, staging coups, and invading any country that they disapproved of. To call China the "greatest threat to world peace" is very strange to me. The greatest threat to Taiwan, I agree, but their ambitions are hardly as global as the horrors of Pax Americana.

        12 votes
        1. updawg
          Link Parent
          Pax Americana involves a lot of war crimes, but China's number one priority is essentially to start a World War, if other countries are to be believed about what they would do in response to an...

          Pax Americana involves a lot of war crimes, but China's number one priority is essentially to start a World War, if other countries are to be believed about what they would do in response to an invasion of Taiwan. And it would be totally incorrect to lay the blame of the world war on countries who say they would defend Taiwan rather than the country actively, aggressively invading a nation with with a great geopolitical significance

          4 votes
      3. [2]
        donn
        Link Parent
        First of all, I agree with other commenters: you're blowing this entirely out of proportion. Second, minor correction: the Chinese debt trap has, so far, been shown to be unfounded- it was born in...

        First of all, I agree with other commenters: you're blowing this entirely out of proportion.

        Second, minor correction: the Chinese debt trap has, so far, been shown to be unfounded- it was born in an Indian think-tank[1] and just got parroted ad nauseam in some of the more sensationalist media outlets (Bloomberg did their homework, however. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-17/the-myth-of-chinese-debt-trap-diplomacy-in-africa)

        12 votes
        1. updawg
          Link Parent
          I'm sorry, but I'm not going to put any stock in an article that justifies a claim in their introduction with how many search results can be found within 0.52 seconds. That's just totally...

          I'm sorry, but I'm not going to put any stock in an article that justifies a claim in their introduction with how many search results can be found within 0.52 seconds. That's just totally unacademic.

          And I can't access the Bloomberg article.

          10 votes
  2. unkz
    Link
    This committee would have really benefited from having just one person with any tech background at all to advise them. Trying to block China from using RISC-V is about as feasible as blocking them...

    This committee would have really benefited from having just one person with any tech background at all to advise them. Trying to block China from using RISC-V is about as feasible as blocking them from using multiplication or division.

    25 votes
  3. [3]
    patience_limited
    Link
    Turning RISC-V into a classified export isn't particularly feasible, and the fact of the matter is we've sold off most of the strategic industries that the U.S. would need to fight a war of any...

    Turning RISC-V into a classified export isn't particularly feasible, and the fact of the matter is we've sold off most of the strategic industries that the U.S. would need to fight a war of any significant duration. Cutting off strategic exports is certainly cheaper than rebuilding the vast amount of U.S. industrial capacity that's been farmed out to China - nearly all shipbuilding, rare earth metal and graphite production, most electronics manufacturing, most chemical manufacturing including pharmaceutical feedstocks... Diversifying industrial capacity elsewhere in Asia isn't going to fill the gap, the supply chains are too long and volatile. Industrial policy isn't always effective. Delaying tactics like chip and IP controls aren't enough to make up for generations-long neglect of productive capacity, and the U.S. doesn't have the time before China is likely to attack or otherwise extort reunification with Taiwan.

    12 votes
    1. [2]
      Nijuu
      Link Parent
      Yeah but the diversification has been going on the last few years to avoid having China as the sole supplier of the things you mentioned. A ton of manufacturing has moved to Vietnam for example....

      Yeah but the diversification has been going on the last few years to avoid having China as the sole supplier of the things you mentioned. A ton of manufacturing has moved to Vietnam for example. In terms of tech Taiwan arguably is a bit more important than China (probably one reason they are trying to get Taiwan back into the fold)

      8 votes
      1. patience_limited
        Link Parent
        As I mentioned, there are supply chain problems throughout Asia, and Vietnam is at risk based on China's Nine Dash Line claims. There's been extensive militarization of artificial and natural...

        As I mentioned, there are supply chain problems throughout Asia, and Vietnam is at risk based on China's Nine Dash Line claims. There's been extensive militarization of artificial and natural islands and reefs in the South China Sea, with multiple nations claiming territory. There's substantial evidence that Vietnam is a channel for China to evade U.S. anti-dumping trade legislation, particularly on solar energy technologies. There's no good way out of the mess that the U.S. has created for itself.

        And China's nuclear arms multiplication just makes things worse.

        6 votes