Tsinghua Unigroup president calls for coexistence with foreign chip giants amid country’s efforts to catch up in semiconductors

The head of China’s top state-backed chip maker has called for coexistence between local and foreign suppliers amid the country’s efforts to catch up with the west in semiconductor technology.

“I hope multinational chip makers can leave a bite for Chinese companies,” Zhao Weiguo, chief executive of Tsinghua Unigroup, said at the Big Data and Smart Technology Summit in Chongqing on Thursday, revealing a rare public glimpse into the mixed feelings of players in the sector.

Last year, the state-owned chip maker spent 20 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion), or 30 per cent of its revenue, on research and development, making it among the top spenders in terms of sales to R&D ratio.

“We are gritting our teeth to push forward … but Qualcomm doesn’t like us,” Zhao said in Chinese, gesturing to the audience which included Cristiano Amon, president of US rival Qualcomm. It was not clear if Amon, who spoke earlier at the event, heard the translation into English.

Zhao, 49, was referring to JLQ Technology, a joint venture Qualcomm set up with China’s Datang Telecom, targeting low-end smartphone chips.

“JLQ has products around US$100, while our target range is US$50 to US$100,” he said. “I hope multinational chip makers can leave something for the Chinese companies.”