Biden's ban on semiconductor exports to China, explained

One month ago, the US Commerce Department issued an exceptionally broad set of prohibitions on exports to China of semiconductor chips and other high-tech equipment. The very technical nature of the export controls might obscure just how consequential this new policy could be — perhaps among the most important of this administration. The new rules appear to mark a major shift in the Biden administration's China strategy, and present a substantial threat to high-tech industries in China, including military technology and artificial intelligence. Washington think tank CSIS called the White House's new approach to the Chinese tech sector "strangling with…