Joe Biden's administration plans to expand restrictions on shipments to China of semiconductors used for artificial intelligence tools and chip production, Reuters reported, citing sources.

The Commerce Department intends to publish new rules based on restrictions announced earlier this year in letters to three U.S. companies -- KLA Corp, Lam Research Corp and Applied Materials Inc.

The rules prohibit the companies from exporting chipmaking equipment to Chinese firms that manufacture advanced semiconductors with a process technology smaller than 14 nanometers unless the sellers are licensed by the Commerce Department.

Some sources said the rules are likely to include additional measures against China. Restrictions could also be changed and the rules published later than expected.

So-called informed letters allow the Commerce Department to bypass lengthy rule-writing processes and quickly impose controls, but the letters apply only to companies that receive them.

One source said the rules could also impose licensing requirements on shipments to China of products containing target chips. Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Super Micro Computer make data center servers containing the Nvidia A100 chip.

A Commerce Department spokesman on Friday declined to comment on specific rules, but reiterated that the agency is taking a comprehensive approach to implementing additional actions ... to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, including to prevent China from acquiring American technology.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China's embassy in Washington, said earlier that China opposes the abuse of export controls by the United States to restrict exports of semiconductor-related goods to China. The upcoming restrictions, he said, violate the rules of international trade and hurt global growth for both U.S. and Chinese companies.

The Biden administration seeks to thwart China's success by targeting technologies in which the United States still retains dominance.