The primary objective of the semiconductor export curbs is to deny the Chinese military access to chips necessary to build and operate weapons platforms. But the dependency on chips and electronics is more evident on the US side, after a careful analysis of the Department of Defense supply chains in critical weapons systems.

Comprehensive surveys of supply chains at the DOD supplier level reveals deep dependencies on China for plastics, rare earth metals, magnets, propulsion systems, engine parts, and more notably in electronics and semiconductors. What's more, we are four to eight times more dependent on China, component by component, compared to just a decade ago.

Resources and links:

Numbers Matter: Defense Acquisition, Production Capacity, and Countering China
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65...

Top 100 defense contractors, 2023, ranked by funded contracts awarded
https://people.defensenews.com/top-100/

The U.S.-China Chip Ban, Explained
https://spectrum.ieee.org/chip-ban

US escalates tech battle by cutting China off from AI chips
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/18/te...

Closing scene, Xiamen, Fujian Province