Chinese officials bemoan ‘significant catch-up’ needed with US on chipmaking, as industrial decoupling looms
- China must become more technologically independent in the face of US decoupling, a Beijing symposium hears
- US restrictions on the flow of American technology to China has exposed weak links in the economy, former industry minister Li Yizhong says
The world’s second largest economy must reduce gaps in the supply of key technologies and components, and consider replacing imports with indigenous development to offset US restrictions, said former industry minister Li Yizhong at a closed-door symposium on Tuesday hosted by the Outlook Institution, a think tank affiliated with the official Xinhua News Agency.
The government should rally all the nation’s resources – the “whole nation” concept – to fill a void in its technological capabilities, said Li, according to comments published on the group’s social media platform on Thursday.
“It’s fair to say that China’s integrated circuit industry still has significant catch-up to do with the United States and other developed countries,” he said.
US restrictions on the flow of American technology to China had exposed weak links in the domestic economy, Li said. Ninety per cent of China’s semiconductor manufacturing equipment was imported and the chips it can manufacture are two generations behind leading global producers, such as Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung, he said.
“Import replacement should be firmly implemented in the chip sector … We should encourage semiconductor firms to increase research and development input, promote the use of home grown chips and force the improvement of chipmaking capability,” Li said.