Artificial intelligence Photo: VCG

The US administration is reportedly drafting a ban on US imports of new models of Chinese data center components, Reuters reported, citing four people familiar with the matter. A Chinese veteran industry analyst said the move shows that the US' unilateral attempts to curb China's technological development is expanding from individual technology sectors to the broader digital infrastructure ecosystem.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees the US telecom ‌industry, is working on the measure to bar imports of new Chinese optical transceivers, which allow data to travel over fiber-optic cables at the speed of light within data centers. Officials hope to publish it this year, when it would take effect, Reuters reported.

Optical transceiver is a small but critical hardware that uses fiber optic technology to transmit and receive data. Compared with copper cables, fiber-optic connections offer faster speeds, greater stability and less interference from electromagnetic signals, playing an important role in AI data centers, Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Zhongguancun Modern Information Consumer Application Industry Technology Alliance, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

The new models could refer to optical modules with higher transmission speeds and lower power consumption, which are increasingly vital as AI data centers consume massive amounts of energy, according to Xiang.

The latest reported move, if implemented, will have foreseeable impacts on US technology companies, particularly cloud service providers, who will likely face higher costs, the Chinese expert said, noting that it could also slow the pace of US AI infrastructure expansion.

China is one of the world's major manufacturing hubs for these products, with domestic companies accounting for a significant share of the global market, supported by a complete industrial supply chain, mature manufacturing capabilities, large-scale production capacity and cost competitiveness.

The numbers reflect China's growing competitiveness in the sector. According to LightCounting, a research firm, Chinese companies accounted for seven of the world's top 10 optical module vendors, with their combined market share exceeding 60 percent globally. In the first four months of 2026, China exported 117 billion integrated circuits worth $103.5 billion, with export value rising 83.7 percent year-on-year. Export orders for optical modules have been booked through 2028.

Huagong Tech, an optical module manufacturer based in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, launched the world's first 12.8-terabit XPO module in March, bundling the capacity of eight 1.6T modules into a single unit tailored for next-generation AI clusters of 100,000-plus GPUs. Ma Xinqiang, the company's chairman, told media that the North American market for 1.6T modules alone has surpassed $20 billion, while the global market will far exceed $30 billion this year, Xinhua reported.

The ban could raise costs for American cloud firms such as Amazon Web Services, as it may force them to transition to other producers such as US-based Coherent and Lumentum, which sell competitive technology but lack the scale to replace Chinese vendors, according to the Reuters' report.

As a key component in global data center construction, optical transceivers derive their competitiveness from years of industrial accumulation and global supply chain collaboration, Xiang said, noting that simply excluding Chinese companies through unilateral restrictions would not genuinely enhance US technological capabilities, but could instead increase costs for US companies and undermine the efficiency of its AI infrastructure development.

The US government has ramped up their unilateral moves against Chinese AI industry. Recently, the US lawmakers have requested information from food delivery company DoorDash on its use of Chinese AI models, CNBC reported on Friday.

Earlier, when asked about recent statements by some senior US officials that they would investigate Chinese AI companies for allegedly "distilling" cutting-edge US models and may impose sanctions on Chinese firms over claims such as "stealing US intellectual property," a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce on July 27 slammed the US plan to probe and threaten to sanction Chinese AI firms, noting such moves lack factual basis and legal justification, and that China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

From chips to optical communications equipment, the US is expanding restrictions across the digital infrastructure sector, with AI becoming a key focus. But technological competition is driven by innovation and market demand, not administrative curbs. Such moves will only disrupt global supply chains, including hurting US companies themselves, Xiang said.