An Apple store in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo: IC

Apple is reportedly lobbying the US administration for clearance to purchase memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a Chinese firm that the Pentagon has put on a blacklist because of alleged military ties, to ease financial pressure caused by surging memory chip prices, the Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Apple’s latest lobbying move represents a pragmatic choice driven by harsh industry realities. It also serves as solid proof that Washington’s groundless blacklisting of Chinese enterprises has become self-imposed shackles that severely constrain its own domestic industries, Chinese experts said.

Apple is not barred from buying chips from CXMT. But the Pentagon has arbitrarily placed the Chinese memory chipmaker on its so-called 1260H list, which includes dozens of Chinese firms the US claims have military ties that pose national security risks to the US, according to the Financial Times report.

This lobbying push emerged after Apple hiked prices for MacBooks and iPads last Thursday. The company blamed “unsustainable” memory prices for its decision to pass on the costs to consumers, following similar moves from other consumer electronics companies, per the Financial Times.

According to the report, Apple currently procures dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips for its devices primarily from US chipmaker Micron, as well as South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix. Yet the AI boom has prompted these manufacturers to ramp up production of high-bandwidth memory, triggering a prolonged shortage of regular DRAM chips used in consumer electronics. Securing CXMT as a memory supplier would help remedy a situation in which the tech giant is being squeezed by its own suppliers.

“Apple’s bid to secure US government permits to source DRAM from CXMT is simply a pragmatic response to severe industry-wide supply crunches and lingering policy uncertainty that weigh heavily on firms like Apple. The market is suffering an acute shortage of consumer-grade DRAM, so filling supply gaps is Apple’s core priority,” Ma Jihua, a veteran tech analyst, told the Global Times on Sunday.

On June 12, China's top securities regulator approved the initial public offering (IPO) registration of CXMT to be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR market. The company plans to raise 29.5 billion yuan ($4.33 billion) via the offering, which would make it the second-biggest IPO in the history of the STAR Market and the largest IPO on the A-share market this year.

According to CXMT Corporation's prospectus, the firm is China's largest and most technologically advanced enterprise focused on the research and development, design and manufacturing of DRAM products.

Apple has extensive manufacturing operations across China. Sourcing memory chips from local suppliers such as CXMT also allows the tech giant to cut logistics costs and boost production efficiency, Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Sunday.

However, the 1260H list introduces enormous policy uncertainty, as potential future tightening of US restrictions could harm corporate reputation and long-term business development. To hedge against downstream risks, multinationals including Apple proactively apply for official clearance, a move that substantially raises their global operational and compliance costs, Zhou explained.

“Unilateral US blacklists trigger extra compliance costs and business uncertainties for companies worldwide and place constant pressure on concerned Chinese enterprises,” Zhou said, urging the US side to eliminate arbitrary industrial barriers and build a predictable business climate for all global firms.

“It is clear that the US 1260H list policy has become a severe constraint on domestic US enterprises and become self-imposed shackles,” Ma said.

China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday urged the US to immediately halt its practice of adding more Chinese companies to its so-called list of companies linked to the Chinese military, saying that China has to take countermeasures.

The US move has severely harmed the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, making it necessary for China to respond, ministry spokesperson He Yadong said at a regular press conference.