My Take | The US is upset China wants to be self-reliant in producing chips
Having denied Chinese firms access to advanced foreign semiconductors, Washington is launching probe into ‘subsidised’ domestic production
Last month, the United States launched another round of export controls on semiconductors by denying their sales to dozens of Chinese companies.
According to Tai, China is suspected of exercising “extensive anticompetitive and non-market means” to try to “achieve self-sufficiency” in “critical industries like defence, automotive, medical devices, aerospace, telecommunications, and power generation and the electrical grid”.
Moreover, “subsidised” Chinese chipmakers might flood the global market and drive down prices. Affordable and reliable Chinese chips for everyone – surely that would be very bad for global consumers.
Actually, that’s a long way off; China can’t make enough legacy chips to meet its own needs, let alone ship them overseas.
“Evidence indicates that China seeks to dominate domestic and global markets in the semiconductor industry and undertakes extensive anticompetitive and non-market means … to achieve indigenisation and self-sufficiency,” Tai’s office said in a statement.
The trade probe will continue after Tai’s tenure ends with the Joe Biden administration.
