China chip expert warns that self-reliance in semiconductors will be tough, needs stable investment
- Comments come as China seeks to build greater self-reliance in core technologies, such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, amid increasing US pressure
A prominent Chinese semiconductor expert has said that China’s deep integration with global technology supply chains would make it difficult for the country to develop all of the tech it needs from scratch and that better use of funds is needed to help close the gap with the US.
“We are integrated with the global technology system,” said Wei Shaojun, a professor at Tsinghua University in the department of microelectronics and nano-electronics, at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Friday. “The possibility of starting something new from scratch is scant.”
His comments came as China seeks to build greater self-reliance in core technologies, such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, amid increasing pressure from Washington. The US has been cutting off an increasing amount of US-origin tech to China on national security grounds and as the world’s two-biggest economies clash over a range of issues including trade and human rights.
Washington in May expanded its sanctions against Huawei Technologies by requiring foreign chip makers that use US technology to apply for a license to sell chips to the Chinese telecoms champion. That vastly expanded Washington’s reach by bringing the world’s biggest contract chip maker and key Huawei supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) under its remit.
Wei said the US has been targeting Huawei to blunt China’s edge in 5G mobile technology, which has the capacity to revolutionise industrial structures.