Hidden beneath AI chips, Chinese-made circuit boards raise national security concerns in U.S. - CNBC

Recent reports from CNBC highlight growing U.S. national security concerns over the heavy reliance on Chinese-made printed circuit boards (PCBs) for AI chips. PCBs, essential components in nearly all ... Read original →

U.S. national security alarms over Chinese-made PCBs for AI chips reveal a critical vulnerability in its electronics manufacturing base. Technically, advanced AI accelerators demand HDI and substrate-like PCBs with micron-level precision—capabilities firms like Victory Giant have mastered for 3nm-class systems, far outpacing U.S. peers TTM and Sanmina. Compliance-wise, DoD’s domestic sourcing mandate will inflate AI server BOM costs by 10–15% and force Nvidia to overhaul supply chain integrity protocols. Strategically, China’s PCB clusters—including those in Taiwan, China—are likely to deepen vertical integration to counter U.S. subsidies. Even with the proposed Circuit Board Protection Act, America lacks domestic capacity in key upstream materials like high-frequency resin and ultra-thin copper foil. Over the next 24 months, PCBs—not just chips—will become the new fault line in tech decoupling, as control shifts to the physical trust anchor beneath every semiconductor.