Three key chip companies said on Thursday that the US had lifted export restrictions on chip design software for China and that they have resumed or are in the process of resuming sales and support to Chinese customers.

Germany-based Siemens said in a statement to China Daily that it was recently notified by the Bureau of Industry and Security of the US Department of Commerce, that the export control restrictions on electronic design automation, or EDA, software and technology to customers in China set forth in the May 23 letter received by Siemens are no longer in place.

As a result, "We have resumed sales and support to Chinese customers," Siemens said.

Synopsys and Cadence Design Systems also said in separate statements that the US had lifted export restrictions on EDA for China and that they were working to restore access to the recently restricted products in China.

Dubbed the cradle of integrated circuits, EDA software enables the design of billions of transistors on modern chips. It is essential for designing, verifying and testing integrated circuits, forming the backbone of modern chip creation.