Apple is lobbying the Trump administration for clearance to buy memory chips from China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies / CXMT, according to the Financial Times. The company wants assurances that sourcing from CXMT will not trigger future restrictions. Apple is not formally barred from buying from the Chinese chipmaker, but CXMT is on the Pentagon’s Chinese Military Company list, creating political and reputational risks.

The push comes as memory prices surge. AI data centers are absorbing a growing share of capacity from Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, the three companies that dominate DRAM production outside China. That is squeezing consumer-electronics makers: Apple has already raised prices for MacBook and iPad models, citing higher memory and storage costs.

CXMT has become China’s leading DRAM producer and makes memory used in smartphones, PCs, tablets and servers. For Apple, adding CXMT could reduce dependence on the three dominant suppliers and ease some pressure on device margins. For Washington, however, the issue is politically sensitive: the U.S. is trying to limit China’s semiconductor ambitions while also avoiding another wave of price increases for American consumers.

It remains unclear whether the White House will support Apple’s request. If it does, the decision would send a broader market signal: Big Tech’s supply-chain needs may start to shape how U.S. restrictions on Chinese semiconductor companies are applied in practice.