The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken another hard step in the widening US-China tech split, voting unanimously to move ahead with a proposal that could bar Chinese laboratories from testing a wide range of electronic devices for sale in the United States. For South African readers watching the global tech battlefield, the move is a stark reminder that the contest over chips, networks and hardware is no longer just about trade — it is about national security, supply chains and who gets to set the rules of the internet-connected world.
At the centre of the latest move is a plan that would stop Chinese labs from certifying devices such as smartphones, cameras and computers for the US market. The FCC says around 75% of all US electronics are currently tested in China, which gives the proposal major weight in a global manufacturing system that remains deeply dependent on Chinese industrial capacity. If adopted, the commission would create a faster approval pathway for devices tested in US-based laboratories or in labs located in countries that the agency does not view as national security risks.
The vote was not limited to device testing. In a separate 3-0 decision, the FCC also advanced a proposal to block China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom from operating data centres in the US. The agency is also considering whether telecoms carriers should be prevented from interconnecting with companies on its national security “covered list”, a move that would widen the net around companies seen as too closely tied to Beijing.
For the FCC, this is part of a broader campaign to tighten the screws on Chinese-linked tech operations in the US. The commission has already barred the three state-linked telecoms giants from operating in the country, and now it is looking at whether the restrictions should extend even further into the digital plumbing that keeps networks, carriers and data traffic moving.
Our sources indicate that the latest proposals are being framed in Washington as a defensive response to growing fears over espionage, infrastructure vulnerability and hidden supply-chain risk. FCC chairman Brendan Carr has made it clear that the commission wants a more aggressive posture, saying the agency is weighing a series of measures “to secure our networks from these bad actors, including limiting their interconnection ability”.
US-China tech split deepens as FCC targets Chinese labs and telecoms
What makes this US-China tech split especially significant is the way it goes beyond headline-grabbing bans and starts to reach into the technical choke points of the market. Testing labs, interconnection points and data centres may not sound glamorous, but they are fundamental to how devices enter commerce and how telecom systems talk to one another.
The FCC is also considering a broader ban on interconnection with companies that own data centres or points of presence at US internet exchange points. In plain terms, that could mean tighter scrutiny on the places where digital traffic is handed off between networks. The agency is also looking at whether restrictions should apply to affiliates of listed firms, and whether carriers using equipment from vendors already on the national security list — including Huawei and ZTE — should be cut off from interconnection entirely.
This matters because once a company is cut out of interconnection and certification pathways, the impact can ripple far beyond one market. Devices may take longer to reach shelves, carriers may face higher compliance costs and global manufacturers may need to redesign supply chains to avoid regulatory friction. In an industry built on speed, a change like this can be costly.
The latest moves build on earlier actions by the FCC to limit Chinese presence in the US telecom and consumer electronics space. Earlier this month, the commission proposed banning the import of equipment from Chinese manufacturers already placed on the “covered list”. That followed an earlier decision in 2022 to stop approving new models from those companies.
The crackdown has not stopped there. In October, the FCC moved to revoke the ability of HKT, a Hong Kong-based telecoms operator and subsidiary of PCCW, to operate in the US. Then, in December, it banned imports of all new models of Chinese drones. Last month, it extended that pressure to Chinese-made consumer routers — the boxes that connect computers, phones and smart devices to the internet.
For American regulators, the message is clear: they are increasingly unwilling to trust Chinese-linked firms with a role in the country’s digital infrastructure, whether that role is in network gear, consumer devices or lab certification. For Beijing, of course, these steps are likely to be seen as another attempt by Washington to ring-fence strategic industries and slow Chinese firms’ access to the world’s biggest market.
There is also a broader geopolitical reading here. The FCC’s actions sit inside a much larger US policy shift that has moved from simple tariffs and trade disputes to direct control over technology ecosystems. That includes everything from chip export controls to restrictions on telecom gear, drone imports and now the testing labs that help determine whether products can legally enter the market.
For South African companies and consumers, the implications are indirect but real. Global phone makers, network suppliers and device brands often build products for multiple regions at once. If the US and China continue to diverge on standards, approvals and trusted suppliers, the result could be more fragmented product lines, different compliance regimes and slower roll-outs across markets like ours.
That is especially important in a country like South Africa, where the telecoms sector relies on a mix of global vendors, imported hardware and international certification chains. When a major regulator like the FCC tightens the rules, the knock-on effects often show up later in pricing, availability and procurement decisions far beyond US borders.
As we reported earlier on similar shifts in global tech policy, these moves are rarely isolated. They tend to cascade across industries, forcing suppliers, carriers and device makers to rethink how and where they operate. The latest FCC vote suggests that Washington is not backing off — if anything, it is preparing to draw an even harder line.
What happens next will depend on how far the commission wants to go, and whether the proposals survive the regulatory process. But one thing is already obvious: the US-China tech split is deepening, and the front line is now reaching into the less visible parts of the digital economy, from certification labs to network interconnection. For global tech firms, and for markets like South Africa that sit downstream of these big decisions, the pressure is only likely to intensify.