The Biden administration issued a general license on January 27 that it will delay a ban imposed by the Trump administration and review Trump’s trade war on China, the United Daily News reported on January 29. The sanction was from an executive order issued by the Trump administration on last November and the number of listed companies was increased from 31 to 44. The sanctions ban U.S. investors from investing in companies that have similar names to blacklisted 44 Chinese firms that have suspected ties with Chinese military, including SMIC, Xiaomi, and CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation), and three leading Chinese telcos. The deadline was originally set for January 28 and is now extended to May 27.
 
To soften the impact, several Chinese companies have teamed up to standardize the Chinese semiconductor market to protect national supply chains amid the ongoing China-U.S. trade war, the South China Morning Post reported on February 1, 2021. Ninety members have established a committee, including Huawei, SMIC, HiSilicon, Tencent, Xiaomi, Alibaba, and others. Despite the trade war, global semiconductor market value is still estimated at US$475.3 billion in 2021, up 10.1% year-on-year, according to MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute), a major government think tank and IT research institute in Taiwan. While HPC (High Speed Computing) and 5G continue to be major growth drivers, IoT enabled /linked devices/applications utilized to lower the possible spread of the outbreak are expected to fuel semiconductor demand worldwide.