US - China | The Secretive China Semiconductor Industry Strategies
The semiconductor industry has seen relatively slow development in China. And it has become one of the top fields where the Chinese Communist Party has been seeking breakthroughs. Beijing has provided China’s chipmakers with about $50 billion dollars in subsidies over the past 20 years. In 2014, the CCP invested about 100 billion dollars to fund chip development. But as of 2019, domestic productions only fulfilled 16% of chips used by China. This explains why the CCP decided to adopt a more secretive strategy. In 2016, the state-backed Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co, or JHICC, entered into a partnership with Taiwanese chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp, or UMC. UMC recruited from American memory-chip maker Micron Technology Inc.’s Taiwan subsidiary MMT and asked employees to steal trade secrets from their former employer for JHICC’s benefit. After indictment by U.S. prosecutors, JHICC lost technical support and had to sell its plant. Tsinghua Unigroup, a state-backed chipmaker, hired engineers from Taiwan’s Inotera. The employees were found providing Inotera’s trade secrets to Unigroup. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, or SMIC, is the largest and most advanced integrated circuit maker in China. It was sued twice by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company or TSMC for trade secret theft and patent infringement. SMIC is also being sanctioned for ties with China’s military. Another strategy has been directly acquiring foreign companies. The deals have not always been successful due to blocks by foreign governments. Some acquisitions might be back by buyers controlled through several layers of interlinked shareholders who were ultimately in the state entities' hands. In May, the CCP general secretary Xi Jinping promised to invest 1.4 trillion dollars in industries from wireless networks to artificial intelligence over six years to 2025. The China semiconductor industry will likely receive additional financial support.
0:00 Intro
0:26 Made in China 2025
2:11 Recruiting and Theft
5:46 China's Largest Chipmaker
8:11 Expensive Acquisitions
10:29 The Race Has Started
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References:
U.S. NEEDS GREATER SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INCENTIVES https://bit.ly/3lsGs5R
Systemic Failure and Strategic Defeat: The Microchip Front in the Sino–US Trade War https://bit.ly/32HofKx
China’s Chipmaking Ambitions Threaten Global Markets, Report Says https://bit.ly/2JVT47G
China’s Pursuit of Semiconductor Independence https://bit.ly/3plW913
Engineers Sentenced for Stealing Tech From US Chipmaker Micron and Transferring It to China https://bit.ly/3pwxOWH
Taiwan’s Technology Secrets Come Under Assault From China https://on.wsj.com/3krxowL
Micron workers stole tech secrets to benefit Chinese companies, prosecutors say https://bit.ly/36zKFOS
The End of China’s Semiconductor Chip Dream https://bit.ly/3kqFUfI
JHICC https://bit.ly/3lryqtT
Three Accused in China Secrets Theft Put on U.S. Wanted List https://bloom.bg/3lvbCtA
Taiwan’s UMC pleads guilty to US charges of trade secret theft https://on.ft.com/3eSE4Tq
Five former Inotera employees indicted for trade espionage https://bit.ly/35odrTq
Semiconductor pioneer hopes to push China to the cutting edge with massive new project https://bit.ly/2Iw2UwO
TSMC and WSMC Agree to Merge https://bit.ly/3pi7hvU
California jury finds SMIC stole trade secrets https://reut.rs/2IzLwXQ
SMIC's CEO Resigns After TSMC Settlement https://on.wsj.com/2GURZfd
China’s biggest chipmaker SMIC hit by US sanctions https://on.ft.com/38BV7Iv
Chinese Chipmaker SMIC Confirms U.S. Export Curbs https://bit.ly/32DBSun
Can China Become the World Leader in Semiconductors? https://bit.ly/2IC61CQ
Over 100 TSMC engineers poached by Chinese chip companies https://bit.ly/2JUYvDQ
CHINA’S NEXT TARGET: U.S. MICROCHIP HEGEMONY https://on.wsj.com/3ndqb5g
Arm of China-Controlled Tsinghua to Buy 15% Stake in Western Digital https://on.wsj.com/35oF2DN
Chinese Firm Ends Investment in Western Digital, Complicating SanDisk Tie-Up https://on.wsj.com/2UjqBL8
Behind China’s Decade of European Deals, State Investors Evade Notice https://on.wsj.com/35qBm4z
China’s Got a New Plan to Overtake the U.S. in Tech https://bloom.bg/3eVatcj
China unveiled 10-year plan ‘Made in China 2025’ https://bit.ly/2GYltsG
China chipmaker accused of IP theft looks to rival for rescue https://on.ft.com/3nmke65
Micron Sues Five Inotera Employees https://bit.ly/2K0Lxo5
2019 Science Park in Taiwan https://bit.ly/3kxhG3c
SMIC shares tumble after reports US will blacklist Chinese chipmaker https://on.ft.com/32E3KhF
The Acquisition of Anteryon https://bit.ly/3krGYzF
# US - China # China Chip Industry # Taiwan Semiconductor