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US-China tech war
TechTech War

Tech war: US chip firms walk a ‘tightrope’ as they try to keep China business up amid escalating sanctions, experts say

  • Concerns about US chip makers’ market share in China was a highlight of a webinar on the impact of the Chips and Science Act
  • Some semiconductor firms like Intel are looking for local strategies in China that can buttress business despite stringent export restrictions

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So-called strategic decoupling between the US and China does not mean chip firms are walking away from the world’s second largest economy, an expert has said. Photo: Reuters
Che Panin Beijing

US chip companies are concerned about losing market share as they try to balance business interests in China with strict export controls on advanced semiconductors, an issue highlighted by experts at a webinar on Tuesday.

So-called strategic decoupling between the US and China does not mean chip firms are walking away from the world’s second largest economy, Bain & Co partner Jue Wang said at the event hosted by advisory firm Mavek and German enterprise software company SAP.

“[The] No 1 question many people have is how do I walk the tightrope so I get access to that 20 per cent to 40 per cent of my … China market, for as long as I can, while at the same time complying with the US and China rules,” she said.

The webinar was about the impact of the US Chips and Science Act, a law passed last summer that provides US$53 billion in funding to domestic semiconductor manufacturing and bars recipients from building advanced chip-making capacity in China or other “foreign countries of concern”.

In October, the US also significantly ramped up its export control rules with the aim of further curtailing China’s access to advanced semiconductors, certain chip-making tools and design software. The rules bar US citizens supporting China’s development of advanced chips, as well.

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