According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials are considering discussing this month’s defense ministry’s proposal to close a regulatory loophole that allowed Chinese chipmaker SMIC to purchase important U.S. technology. Some Commerce officials are trying to thwart the Defense’s proposal, the journal adds, citing people familiar with the matter. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) was added to the U.S. blacklist last year and has been denied access to advanced manufacturing equipment from U.S. suppliers due to suspected ties with the Chinese military, the company said. Insist. SMIC, China’s largest contract chip maker, did not immediately respond to requests for…