Beijing banned the export of Loongson processors to RussiaAs Kommersant has learned, the Chinese government has banned the supply of Loongson processors to the Russian Federation on its own LoongArch architecture.
The decision is due to the fact that the technology is recognized as strategically important and is used in the military-industrial complex of China. A number of Russian electronics manufacturers, according to Kommersant, have already tested Chinese processors and believe that they could replace Intel in case of blocking parallel import channels. While Loongson-based laptops are available for order in Russia on AliExpress, and market participants hope to find a way to supply the technology.
A source of Kommersant, close to the Ministry of Finance, said that the Chinese government banned the supply of Loongson processors to Russia and other countries on the architecture of LoongArch's own development. According to him, some Russian electronics manufacturers have already tested these chips, but now it is impossible to purchase a batch.
A source of Kommersant in the electronics market confirmed that the Chinese government has banned the export of Loongson processors to all countries, including the Russian Federation, since this is an original solution of Chinese electronics: "The best chipsets in China are used in the military-industrial complex, this is the main reason why they are not available for foreign markets."
After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, leading manufacturers of processors, including domestic computers, storage, servers, etc., Intel and AMD, suspended deliveries to the Russian Federation. After that, parallel imports were legalized in Russia: criminal and administrative liability for the import of products without the permission of the copyright holder was abolished. In the list of goods allowed for import through parallel import channels, there are, in particular, Intel products ( see Kommersant of June 28 ).
In case of blocking parallel imports and depletion of stocks of Intel and AMD processors, Russian companies could use Loongson products if not for the decision of the Chinese authorities, says Maxim Koposov, director of Promobit:
At the same time, while laptops and motherboards on Loongson can be bought on AliExpress, so perhaps the ban will be formal, the expert admits. The correspondent of “Kommersant" made sure that such goods are available for order in the Russian Federation.
Large Chinese companies dependent on the world market, in any case, try not to advertise supplies to the Russian Federation, says Vitaly Mankevich, chairman of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RASP): "According to our information, there are no official statements on the issue of banning the supply of Loongson processors yet, but even with a negative scenario, RASP has many ways purchases of similar goods, including through third, smaller companies."
In order to set up the production of equipment for the Russian market, it is much easier and safer to use Intel processors, of which there are billions of pieces in the world, the interlocutor of Kommersant believes: "Besides, in terms of their technological characteristics, Chinese components, although ahead of Russian ones, still fall short of American ones." But the interlocutor of Kommersant in another electronics manufacturer said that their company tested the server on a Loongson processor and came to the conclusion that it was "a reliable, productive and promising processor capable of competing with Intel."
Timofey Kornev
