State-run data centre operators in China could be asked to reduce their use of networking equipment made by Broadcom after a survey found the US company’s switches accounted for as much as 90% of equipment in some facilities.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, known as SASAC, has examined how widely Broadcom switches are used across state-controlled data centres, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, cited in reports dated Sept 23. SASAC oversees China’s state-owned enterprises.
The regulator may issue informal guidance asking operators to scale back their dependence on Broadcom switches. No formal ban has been issued, and the survey does not establish that China has reached a final decision to prohibit or phase out the company’s equipment.
The review is part of Beijing’s “domestic chips for domestic use” campaign, which seeks to strengthen domestic producers and reduce dependence on foreign artificial intelligence infrastructure. It follows an earlier bar on Nvidia products in state-backed data centres.
The focus on Broadcom extends the examination of foreign technology beyond processors. Networking switches form the fabric that connects artificial intelligence clusters in data centres, and Broadcom’s high-end switches are a core product line for that work.
Broadcom, Nvidia and Huawei all sell high-end switches in China. Huawei is already supplying such equipment in the country and is preferred by the state. Broadcom switches nevertheless remain widely used in state-backed facilities, according to the reported survey.
SASAC’s work remains at a preliminary stage. It is unclear when any informal guidance might be issued, whether it would carry mandatory or voluntary force, or which domestic products state operators could be directed to use instead.
There is also no information on how many state-controlled data centres were surveyed, how they were chosen, or the criteria used to assess dependence on Broadcom equipment. It remains unclear whether the review will extend to private data centres or to other US technology suppliers.
The reported examination forms part of a broader audit of foreign technology used in China’s strategic computing infrastructure. Beijing is intensifying efforts to reduce reliance on overseas suppliers while building up domestic alternatives across that infrastructure layer.
Any reduction in Broadcom use could present practical questions for operators because the company’s switches are already deeply deployed in some facilities. The Financial Times report did not say whether Broadcom had been informed of the survey or its findings, how quickly operators could reduce their reliance on its equipment, or what effect such a change could have on the supplier’s China revenue.
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