Vital chipmaking software access restored to China — shift follows high-level call between Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping

Just days after a new Washington crackdown on semiconductor design software exports to China, which banned companies like Synopsys from offering their services to clients in the country, access to some vital services appears to have been quietly restored. Notably, the turnabout comes within days of a high-level phone call between President Trump and Xi Jinping, according to Digitimes.

Digitimes reports that following the call, which took place on June 5, there has been a shift in the semiconductor market pertaining to the software used by companies in semiconductor design. Notably, several local Chinese IC design engineers and companies have reported that access to Synopsys' SolvNetPlus platform and Cadence's Support Portal has now been restored.

The report notes that it's unclear at this stage whether the change marks an isolated dispensation for certain clients or a broader relaxing of tension and restrictions between China and the US.

At the end of May, Synopsys paused its sales and services offerings in China and suspended its financial guidance, after receiving a BIS letter from the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The letter reportedly disclosed "new export restrictions related to China," and further reports claimed Synopsys had told staff to halt services and sales in the country and stop taking new orders to comply.

The EDA ban was expected to hit Chinese companies, notably Xiaomi and Lenovo, hard. Specifically, Chinese companies rely on American software for the manufacture and production of more advanced semiconductors like those used in AI processing. Reports at the time indicated that while China did have some homegrown EDA capacity, it was only "usable" on 7nm nodes and older, a weighty concern for future production.

These concerns appear to have been short-lived, however. Digitimes reports that following the phone call on June 5 (it is unclear if EDA access was specifically discussed), multiple Chinese IC firms reported successfully logging into SolvNetPlus with no issues.

Digitimes cites industry analysts who postulate whether the call might have garnered a software approach from the U.S. In regard to technology export restrictions and a gradual restoration of some services.

With no sign of a more concrete resolution, however, Digitimes reports that companies are continuing to accelerate local backup plans, beefing up testing and integration of domestic EDA offerings, including Empyrean Technology and Xpeedic.

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