US House China committee chair John Moolenaar has urged the Trump administration to ban U.S. firms from buying memory chips from CXMT and YMTC to curb reliance on China for AI infrastructure components.

Moolenaar, along with Democratic congressman George Whitesides, wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, arguing that dependence on Chinese chips creates an “unacceptable risk for US national security, economic security and supply chain security.” They warned that each purchase would directly subsidise the People’s Liberation Army.

The letter follows reports that Apple is lobbying for clearance to buy chips from CXMT. The Pentagon has already blacklisted CXMT on its “Chinese Military Companies” list. Lawmakers ask the administration to add CXMT to the Commerce Department’s “Entity List” and tighten restrictions on YMTC, already listed.

They also call for a coordinated approach with Japan, Korea and the EU to prevent Chinese firms from exploiting the global memory shortage to penetrate allied supply chains. The move could reduce Western memory manufacturing capability and create strategic dependence on China as AI becomes critical to U.S. military and economic power.