A smartphone with a displayed Applied Materials logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. Shares in Applied Materials fell 7.3% after the news and the company reported quarterly results. Reuters could not determine whether Applied Materials violated the law, and it isn't clear whether the investigation will result in charges. SMIC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the shipments from Applied Materials. A spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington was not aware of the Applied Materials probe.

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Persons: Dado Ruvic, SMIC, Liu Pengyu, Karen Freifeld, Anna Driver Organizations: REUTERS, Semiconductor, Applied, Justice Department, Reuters, Materials, Justice and Commerce, Attorney's, Prosecutors, National Security Unit, China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, U.S . Commerce Department, Commerce Department, Federal Register, Lam Research Corp, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Thomson Locations: U.S, South Korea, China, Santa Clara , California, Massachusetts, Boston, Gloucester, Washington