US-China tech war: semiconductor supply chain risks a worry for both sides
- US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the country’s lack of semiconductor production was a ‘national security risk and an economic security risk’
- China will encourage private and foreign entities to invest more in its semiconductor industry to strengthen the country’s supply chain, an MIIT official said
Beijing and Washington are waging a tech war on multiple fronts, but they have found common ground on one thing: their respective lack of domestic production capability in semiconductors is a worrying risk amid the global chip shortage.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told a Senate hearing on Tuesday that the country was facing a “crisis” over its lack of semiconductor production, calling the deficiency “a national security risk and an economic security risk”, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Raimondo was speaking at a hearing on President Joe Biden’s US$2.25 infrastructure plan, which includes US$50 billion to support semiconductor investment on American soil.
The ministry is also trying to compile chip demand information from Chinese carmakers to help them find suppliers.
The separate statements come as the world’s two largest economies are trying to boost self-reliance in their semiconductor industries amid a global car chip crunch, which has now spread to consumer electronics products.
The US, a global leader in designing chips and producing the electronic design automation (EDA) software for that purpose, is falling behind in terms of chip manufacturing, while China has been struggling to cut its reliance on imports of advanced integrated circuits (ICs)