中國計劃擴大對芯片行業的支持以對抗特朗普

 Recently Yahoo Business On-line published the following:

China to Plan Sweeping Support for Chip Sector to Counter Trump

Bloomberg News

Bloomberg September 3, 2020, 2:04 a.m. PDT

(Bloomberg) -- China is planning a sweeping set of new government policies to develop its domestic semiconductor industry and counter Trump administration restrictions, conferring the same kind of priority on the effort it accorded to building its atomic capability, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

 Beijing is preparing broad support for so-called third-generation semiconductors for the five years through 2025, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing government deliberations. A suite of measures to bolster research, education and financing for the industry has been added to a draft of the country’s 14th five-year plan, which will be presented to the country’s top leaders in October, the people said.

China’s top leaders will gather next month to lay out their economic strategy for the next half decade, including efforts to ramp up domestic consumption and make critical technology at home. President Xi Jinping has pledged an estimated $1.4 trillion through 2025 for technologies ranging from wireless networks to artificial intelligence. Semiconductors are fundamental to virtually every component of China’s technology ambitions -- and an increasingly aggressive Trump administration threatens to cut off their supply from abroad.

“The Chinese leadership realizes that semiconductors underpin all advanced technologies, and that it can no longer dependably rely on American supplies,” said Dan Wang, technology analyst at research firm Gavekal Dragonomics. “In the face of stricter U.S. restrictions on chip access, China’s response can only be to keep pushing its own industry to develop.”

Shares in several major Chinese chipmakers gained. Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group Co. finished 4.3% higher in Hong Kong. On mainland bourses, Will Semiconductor Ltd. -- the second most valuable listed Chinese chip firm -- rose almost 10%. Xiamen Changelight Co. closed 14% up while Focus Lightings Tech Co. jumped 5.6%.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which is responsible for drafting the tech-related goals, did not reply to a request for comment.

China Still Buying $300 Billion of Chips From U.S., Elsewhere

China imports more than $300 billion worth of integrated circuits each year and its semiconductor developers rely on U.S.-made chip design tools and patents, as well as critical manufacturing technologies from U.S. allies. But deteriorating ties between Beijing and Washington have made it increasingly difficult for Chinese companies to source components and chipmaking technologies from overseas.

The U.S. government has blacklisted dozens of China’s tech companies so they can’t buy American parts, and slapped bans on ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat. In the case of technology giant Huawei Technologies Co., the Trump administration sanctioned the company and pressed allies to ban the company’s equipment from their telecom networks.

This month, Huawei, the country’s largest handset maker, will even lose access to chips from the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. under new American regulations that prohibit suppliers anywhere in the world from working with the company if those suppliers use American equipment. The tighter rules have raised the urgency of building domestic alternatives in Beijing.

Third-generation semiconductors are mainly chipsets made of materials such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride. They can operate at high frequency and in higher power and temperature environments, and are widely used in fifth-generation radio frequency chips, military-grade radars and electric vehicles.

Since no single country now dominates the fledgling, third-generation technology, China’s gamble is its corporations can compete if they accelerate research into the field now. Global leaders such as U.S.-based CREE Inc. and Japan’s Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. are just beginning to grow this business, while Chinese tech giants such as Sanan Optoelectronics Co. Ltd. and state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corp. have made inroads on third-generation chipsets.

The country’s other chipmakers, which include Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., Will Semiconductor Ltd. and National Silicon Industry Group Co., may benefit more broadly from the state support.

“This is a sector about to see explosive growth,” Alan Zhou, managing partner of Fujian-based chip investment fund An Xin Capital Co., told an industry forum last week. Because of China’s increasing demand and investment, this is an area that could create a “world-class Chinese chip giant.”

Translation

（彭博社）- 據知情人士稱，中國正在計劃制定一系列新的政府政策，以發展其國內半導體產業並應對特朗普政府的制裁，將給它相同於已賦予建設原子能的同等優先權的努力。

要求不被識別在討論政府審議的知情人士說，北京正在為到2025年的五年準備廣泛支持所謂的第三代半導體。知情人士又說，該國第十四個五年計劃的草案中增加了一系列措施，以加強該行業的研究，教育和融資。該計劃將於十月份提交給該國最高領導人。

中國高層領導人將在下個月聚會，制定下一個五年的經濟戰略，包括努力擴大國內消費並在國內生產關鍵技術。習近平主席已承諾到2025年向由無線網絡到人工智能等技術領域投入約1. 4萬億美元。半導體幾乎是中國技術雄心的基本組成部分-日益激進的特朗普政府威脅要切斷中國從國外的供應。

研究公司Gavekal Dragonomics的技術分析師王丹說：“中國領導人意識到，半導體是所有先進技術的基礎，它不再能夠可靠地依靠美國的供應。” “面對美國對存取芯片的更嚴格限制，中國的對策只能是繼續推動自己的產業發展。”

幾家中國主要芯片製造商的股票上漲。上海復旦微電子集團有限公司在香港上漲了4.3％。在大陸交易所，第二大最有價值的上市中國芯片公司威爾半導體有限公司（Will Semiconductor Ltd.）上漲了近10％。廈門Changelight有限公司收盤上漲14％，而Focus Lightings Tech Co.上漲5.6％。

負責起草與技術目標有關的的工業和信息技術部對置評請求未有回覆。

 中國仍然從美國和其他地方購買3,000億美元的芯片

 中國每年進口價值超過3000億美元的集成電路，其半導體開發商依靠美國製造的芯片設計工具和專利以及美國盟國的關鍵製造技術。但是北京和華盛頓之間關係的惡化使中國公司越來越難以從海外採購組件和芯片製造技術。

美國政府已將數十家中國科技公司列入黑名單，使它們無法購買美國零件，並對ByteDance Ltd.的TikTok和騰訊控股有限公司的微信施行禁令。對於科技巨頭華為技術有限公司（Huawei Technologies Co.），特朗普政府制裁了該公司，並敦促盟國禁止該公司的設備進入其電信網絡。

本月，中國最大的手機製造商華為甚至將失去台灣半導體製造公司（Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.）等公司提供的芯片的使用權。美國新法規禁止全球任何地方的供應商使用美國設備與該公司合作。嚴格的規定提高了在北京建設國內替代品的緊迫性。

第三代半導體主要是由例如碳化矽和氮化鎵等材料製成的芯片組。它們可以在高頻以及更高的功率和溫度環境下工作，並廣泛用於第五代射頻芯片，軍用雷達和電動汽車。

由於現在還沒有哪個國家能在初步新興的第三代技術中佔主導地位，因此，中國的賭博是如果它們現在加快研究速度，它們的公司就可以競爭。全球領導者例如美國CREE公司和日本住友電氣工業有限公司等只是剛剛開始發展這項業務，而中國科技巨頭三安光電有限公司和國有的中國電子科技集團公司等已經開始進軍第三代芯片組上。

該國其他芯片製造商，包括半導體製造國際公司，威爾半導體有限公司和硅产业集团，可能會從政府的支持中獲得更大的收益。

福建的芯片投資基金安信資本有限公司（An Xin Capital Co.）的執行合夥人周艾倫（Alan Zhou）在上週的一次行業論壇上表示“這是一個會有爆炸性增長的行業”。由於中國不斷增長的需求和投資，這一領域可能會打造出“世界一流的中國芯片巨人”。

              So, let’s wait and see whether China’s increasing demand and investment could create a “world-class Chinese chip giant.”