Growing US hostility has driven home for Beijing the importance of making its own chips, the fundamental building block of most technologies from 5G networking and cars to smartphones and datacentres. — Cristian Ibarra/Pixabay
China will import US$300bil (RM1.25 trillion) of semiconductors for the third straight year, underscoring how the world’s No. 2 economy remains tied to America despite billions invested in local chip-making know-how.
Tech giants from Huawei Technologies Co to Tsinghua Unigroup Co and China Electronics Corp are at the forefront of Beijing’s efforts to wean itself off US technology, investing in cutting-edge AI chips, design software tools and memory. Yet decoupling from the United States threatens the global economy and is impossible for now despite major advances domestically, Wei Shaojun, vice chairman of China Semiconductor Industry Association, told the World Semiconductor Conference in Nanjing.
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