The United States has been working hard to reduce China’s chip manufacturing, but it’s possible that it won’t have much of an impact. According to Reuters, China intends to establish a fund in an effort to support its semiconductor industry. The third project from the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, which is supported by the government, wants to generate 300 billion yuan ($41 billion). In 2014, 138.7 billion yuan ($19 billion) was raised, and in 2019, 200 billion yuan ($27 billion).
The Chinese finance ministry is anticipated to provide about 60 billion yuan ($8 billion). While prior supporters have included China Telecom and China National Tobacco Corporation, the other contributors are now unknown. A significant portion of the investment itself will be devoted to developing tools for chip fabrication.
The revelation was released just a few days after Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei unveiled the Mate 60 Pro, a new smartphone with in-house CPUs. According to a study from analysis company TechInsights, Huawei collaborated with chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) to develop the new Kirin 9000s chip. High-level 7nm technology from SMIC appears to give the Mate 60 Pro download rates that are faster than those of regular 5G phones.
The entire Mate 60 Pro announcement and subsequent demonstration of its strength contrast sharply with the actions taken by the US, Japan, and the Netherlands to limit China’s access to chips and their capacity for production. President Biden signed an executive order in August that further restricts investments in Chinese companies that deal in technology, such as semiconductors. Prior restrictions particularly targeted Huawei, such as a January embargo on export permits for US technology to the Chinese firm.