Economy
What’s a Supercomputer? How US will decide who to punish with China tech curbs
Choosing who gets hurt by sweeping new U.S. curbs on selling technology to China will drop in part to what is considered a “supercomputer,” experts told.
Across the Globe, the semiconductor firm on Friday, 7 October started to wrestle with wide-ranging U.S. restrictions on selling chips and chip-making equipment to China.
Shares of chip equipment makers drooped, but industry experts said a new U.S. definition of a supercomputer could be crucial to the new rules’ impact on China.
Supercomputers can be used in developing nuclear weapons and other military techniques, and experts say how to define them has long bedeviled regulators trying to pin down an ever-advancing technological target.
The new American rules define supercomputers broadly in terms of computing power in a defined space: a machine with 100 petaflops – the ability to carry out 100 trillion operations per second – in 41,600 cubic feet, with some other caveats.
Senior government officials said in a media briefing that their intention was to target only China’s most advanced systems that could represent a national security threat to the U.S. rather than commercial activity.
But experts wondered whether Chinese tech giants’ densely packed data centers owned by the likes of Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK) or TikTok-owner ByteDance might soon reach supercomputer status based on the new definition, even if that is not what U.S. regulators intended.
“Data center build-outs like Alibaba or ByteDance would have the potential to reach petaflop build-outs,” said CCS Insight chip analyst Wayne Lam.
The new meaning is unlikely to change as industry technology improves. Current-day Chinese supercomputers may one day become the corporate standard, but they will still face the limits imposed Friday to stop any chip made with U.S. equipment or technology from going into China. Companies “may very well run into supercomputing limitations within the next couple of years,” Lam said.
Jack Dongarra, an expert in computer science who helps lead a group called TOP500 that ranks the world’s fastest supercomputers, said he disagreed with the static definition.
“The issue is that the definition of a supercomputer will change over time,” he said by email.
Major Chinese companies with big data centers such as Baidu, Alibaba and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tencent declined to comment.
The meaning of computing power per cubic foot also may offer room for creative workarounds. For instance, said one expert, use fiber optic cables to tie together immense computing power over a larger space.
“They could spread their supercomputers out over a larger space,” said one chip and data center expert who requested anonymity due to the politically charged nature of the new rules.
“The average supercomputer architect would say, ‘That’s not how things are done!’ But not being able to do it another way breeds a lot of creativity, and willingness to do things differently.”
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Thursday paid tribute to the Armed Forces Division by placing a floral wreath at its headquarters.
Prof Yunus, who visited the division as part of his official duties, laid the wreath to honor the sacrifices and dedication of the members of the Armed Forces.
Following the wreath-laying ceremony, he signed the visitor’s book.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal, along with four other election commissioners, announced their resignation during a press conference today at the Election Commission (EC) building. The resignation follows growing speculation and pressure.
CEC Awal stated, “In this changed situation, I and other commissioners have decided to step down. We’re handing over our resignation letters to the EC Secretary to send it to the President.” After submitting the letters, the CEC and some commissioners quickly left the premises, with no clear explanation for the absence of two election commissioners.
The resignations come amid increasing unrest tied to the registration of political parties such as Nagarik Oikya and Gono Odhikar Parishad. Sources revealed the CEC felt unsafe due to aggressive behavior from activists, prompting the decision to step down.
Protesters outside the EC building hurled shoes at vehicles carrying Election Commissioners Rashida Sultana, Md Alamgir, and Anisur Rahman as they left. Meanwhile, preparations for their exit had already been underway, with the commissioners reportedly relocating personal belongings from their offices.
The commission, appointed in February 2022 for a five-year term, had previously expressed confusion over demands for their resignation, maintaining they had conducted fair elections. However, internal discussions led to the collective decision to resign earlier than expected.
The government will now purchase LNG from the international spot market through open tender instead of negotiation.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in a meeting on Wednesday in principle approved a proposal in this regard.
Adviser of the interim government for Finance Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, who presided over the meeting, said that the government will procure LNG through open tender.
The Energy and Mineral Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources placed the proposal where it sought approval to import LNG from 23 listed companies in the international spot market.
The adviser said that though such 23 companies were enlisted by the previous Awami League government and signed Master Sales and Purchase Agreement, they will remain unchanged.
He said that instead of applying the Speedy Increase of Energy and Power Supply (Special) Act 2010, the interim government will follow the Public Procurement Rules 2008 to ensure the competitive bidding process.
“We don’t want to change them as we wanted to import LNG quickly, ensuring proper competition among the suppliers,” he told reporters.
Committee also approved another proposal in principle to sign a contract to import urea fertiliser for the 2024-25 fiscal year from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, UAE, on a G-to-G basis.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Government Procurement (CCGP) in a meeting, presided over by the Adviser for Finance, approved 3 proposals for import of lentil and fertiliser.
As per the proposal, the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh will procure 10,000 metric tons (MT) of lentil from local firm Sahara Enterprise at a cost of Tk 98.20 crore with each kg priced at Tk 98.20.
The Commerce Ministry which moved the proposal on behalf of the TCB in the meeting mentioned in the proposal that the supplier firm was selected through open tender.
The CCGP approved two separate proposals of the Industries Ministry under which Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation will import 30,000 MT of bulk granular urea fertiliser from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, UAE, under state to state contract at a cost of Tk 121.48 crore.
Each metric ton of fertiliser will cost $343.17.
Another 30,000 MT of bagged granular urea fertiliser will be procured from the local Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited (Kafco) at a cost of Tk 116.99 crore with each metric ton costing $330.50.
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