US tech war: China’s Xi Jinping urges ‘solid path of innovation’ as he tours semiconductor firms
- Rapid development of information technology means ‘disruptive technologies can emerge at any time,’ president warns during inspection trip to Jiangsu
- Tour of semiconductor and hi-tech companies in eastern province underlines drive to boost high-end manufacturing to counter US-led tech containment
President Xi Jinping called on Chinese firms to follow a “practical and solid path of innovation”, as he carried out an inspection tour of semiconductor and hi-tech companies in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu.
“With the rapid development of information technology, disruptive technologies can emerge at any time,” Xi said. “It is necessary to pursue a practical and solid path of innovation in order to make significant contributions to achieving high-level self-reliance in science and technology.”
Xi spent Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning in the city of Suzhou, home to hundreds of companies that are part of the semiconductor supply chain.
His aim was to “understand the construction and development of hi-tech industrial parks and enterprise technological innovation,” state media reports said.
Highlighting the key role of hi-tech industrial parks “in achieving scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening”, Xi called for greater international cooperation in building such “world-class and open” centres of innovation.
Xi also visited Suzhou HYC Technology, a private company specialising in semiconductor manufacturing, state news agency Xinhua said.
State broadcaster CCTV said HYC is “a company founded by returned Chinese technology talents” that focuses on “promoting domestic substitution through independent innovation”. The company is listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and has research centres in the US, Singapore and South Korea, according to its website.
From Suzhou, Xi headed to provincial capital Nanjing, where he inspected two state-founded tech companies, Purple Mountain Laboratories and NARI Group Corp.
His aim was to “understand the progress of major scientific and technological tasks, the development of advanced manufacturing clusters, and the promotion of high-quality development,”CCTV said.
Purple Mountain, a tech company jointly set up by the Jiangsu provincial and Nanjing municipal governments, specialises in security and network communication equipment.
NARI, also known as the State Grid Electric Power Research Institute, is a leading provider of IT and tech solutions for managing water conservation, electricity and renewable energy systems.
Xi’s visit to Jiangsu sent “a signal to accelerate the achievement of high-level technological self-reliance and self-strengthening,” a Xinhua commentary on Friday said as the president wrapped up his tour.
“Faced with increasingly fierce international competition, it is fundamentally necessary to open up new fields and tracks of development and shape new driving forces and advantages through technological innovation,” it said.
Xi has repeatedly called for technological self-reliance to build a “socialist modernised strong country”, seen as an effort to counter Washington’s escalating tech containment.
China raises supply chain concerns as the Netherlands prepares chip curbs
Beijing reacted with fury after the US banned the export of high-end chips to China in October citing national security concerns, in addition to blacklisting hundreds of Chinese companies.
It has also protested about Washington’s deal with the Netherlands and Japan to stop selling high-end chip-making machines to China, calling them essentially trade restrictions.
During his trip to Jiangsu, an economic powerhouse, Xi said he hoped the province would “demonstrate new achievements in strengthening supply chains, complementing weak links, and extending value chains”.
In recent years, local governments across China have launched many initiatives to push tech development in response to Xi’s call for “technological self-reliance”.
