China vying for dominance in the semiconductors sector raising concern internationally

Beijing: – Over the last decade, China has taken the lead in various sectors ranging from 5G technology to Artificial intelligence. To strengthen its position, China has focused on the semiconductor sector and it has been revealed that the Chinese companies have even started manufacturing semiconductors. The international community has taken serious cognisance of the matter. Moreover, experts and analysts from this sector have warned that it could be a dangerous development if China dominates this sector. Alibaba, a leading Chinese company in the field of the internet, unveiled a chip called ‘Yitian 710’ at an event two months ago. The company said that the chip would be used for cloud computing. Apart from Alibaba, other leading companies in the technology sector have also been forced to invest in the semiconductor sector by the Chinese communist regime. These include Tencent, Baidu and Xiaomi. Besides, in the last few years, these companies have doubled their investment in research and development in the semiconductor sector.

Moreover, two factors are responsible for the Chinese communist regime’s initiative in the semiconductor sector. Chinese efforts are due to its ambition to become a global superpower and the trade wars it has waged with other countries, including the western countries, in recent years. In the last decade, China announced an ambitious “Made in China Policy” in its bid to become a technology superpower. There were indications to increase investments in areas like information technology and robotics through this.

While increasing investment, the technique of taking over or acquiring a large share in foreign companies in the sensitive technology sector was also adopted. However, this technique has not been very successful in the field of semiconductors, which are important for every industry, from smartphones to satellites. Even today, Chinese companies in the sector are dependent on countries such as the United States, Europe and Taiwan. The current leader in the semiconductor sector is TSMC from Taiwan. The top 10 companies include six American, two Korean and one European company.

Given the tensions reigning between China and the western countries, China is unlikely to receive any support from leading companies in the semiconductor sector. Therefore, China is trying to move forward with the help of other non-leading but active companies. The chip, introduced by Alibaba, has also been developed with ARM’s assistance in the United Kingdom. But the technology and capabilities of this company are minimal considering the semiconductor sector. At the same time, the advanced machinery required for the process required to manufacture semiconductors is currently being provided by a European company. The company, ASML, has refused to supply the systems to China.

However, the ongoing efforts by China in this area have attracted the attention of the international community. China currently dominates the field of ‘rare earth minerals’, which are essential for the manufacture of semiconductors. It is claimed that China could use it to take the lead in semiconductors. At the same time, the gains made by China in areas like 5G, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics, machine learning have also been pointed out. Last month, the UK intelligence chief warned that China’s move toward technology would change the world’s geopolitical equations over the next decade. Against this backdrop, the ongoing Chinese struggle in the semiconductor sector is noteworthy.