After the United States restricted Huawei's chip exports, many lithography machines in the West were stopped. Because of the significant impact the policy has had on businesses, many of the affected companies have approached the White House for an explanation. However, some American media have made another excuse for Biden, accusing China of the reason for all this.
The current situation of the chip industry
Most U.S. chipmaker employees now seem to be in their spare time. According to data from a research institution, among the world's top 500 supercomputers, the number of China is quite close to that of the United States, with a difference of only 16. The specific numbers: 150 in the United States and 134 in China. When the U.S. side realized the rapid development of China's high technology, they were proud because many semiconductor companies around the world are using U.S. technology and patents.
U.S. strategy and measures
Since the Trump administration, the United States has imposed many restrictions on China's semiconductor industry. Among them, the Meng Wanzhou incident is a typical example. The most shocking thing is that the United States began to exercise so-called "extraterritoriality". This means that even if a product does not use U.S. technology, U.S. parts, or is manufactured in the U.S., as long as any part of the U.S. is used, the product is considered a U.S. commodity and the U.S. has the right to manage it. According to this logic, the United States brought many chips that were not related to it under its jurisdiction and began to impose extensive sanctions on China.
Further actions by the Biden administration
In the Trump era, sanctions against China are just the beginning. The Biden administration has further tightened restrictions on the chip industry, banning trade and exchanges with China. In addition, the United States has established organizations such as the Four-Party Chip Alliance and the Tripartite Semiconductor Alliance to restrict exports to China. In order to attract semiconductor giants to build factories in the United States, the Biden administration introduced the "chip bill" with high subsidies. But many companies find the terms unacceptable.
The mistakes and consequences of the US side
Despite many restrictive measures in the United States, the actual effect has not been ideal. The report pointed out that due to restrictions on China, American and Western semiconductor companies lost a large number of orders, resulting in a large-scale shutdown of lithography machines. Markets for technology and policy have lost their meaning. However, the US media still try to shift the blame onto China.
Apparently, Biden did not get the desired effect. China has always been in a passive position in this "chip war", and the real reason begins with the tactics and actions of the United States.
Impact of the CHIP Act
The CHIP Act explicitly requires that companies receiving government subsidies must not expand their operations in China for the next few years. Such restrictions are almost impractical. Considering large companies like Micron, TSMC and Samsung, the Chinese market is impossible to ignore for them. These companies not only have a large number of customers in China, but also spend a lot of time and resources building sales networks. In fact, many companies derive more than half of their annual profits from the Chinese market. For example, Intel, Qualcomm and Nvidia derive 25%, 60% and 20% of their revenue from China, respectively.
Still, there are some companies that choose to accept the terms of the CHIP Act, of which TSMC is a prime example. Even before the CHIP Act, TSMC began making massive investments in the United States, building new manufacturing plants, and a large number of employees moved to the United States.
Global Chaining and U.S. Strategy
America's long-term vision seems to be to control global supply chains, but this strategy is both a bit helpless and overly optimistic. In a globalized world, it is nearly impossible to expect a single country to control all supply chains, let alone block a huge market like China.
The disagreement of the American Chip Alliance
In July of this year, the chip quadrilateral alliance created by the United States began to crack. Europe said their China strategy differed from that of the Biden administration, which was seen as a sign of a possible adjustment in its China policy. At the same time, the European Union has also expressed disgust with the United States' attempt to attract manufacturing back, and has issued its own version of the chip bill.
The role of the global market and China
The chip industry is a key area for future economic growth. The goal of the United States is to prevent China from taking the lead. But this strategy is meaningless if the United States cannot get this head start on its own. China is not only a huge market, but also a major source of investment. In recent years, about seventy percent of the transaction volume and ninety percent of the investment volume have come from China.
Strategic risk in the United States
Restricting China for a long time would mean not only a loss of markets, but also a loss of significant investment, which is bound to affect America's ability to innovate. Russian media quoted American experts as saying that the United States' efforts to stop China's semiconductor industry are tantamount to "economic suicide." Ultimately, if China succeeds in achieving technological autonomy, the United States has already lost this invisible war.
However, the cycle of history is so similar. Relying on the persistence and efforts of Chinese researchers, a new road has been opened up for New China. Today, the constraints of the United States have become a beacon for China to find its own development.
Independent innovation of chips
Evidence shows that China has mastered all low-end chip technology and achieved mass production. In the field of high-end chips with high difficulty, Huawei has also made major breakthroughs.
Recently, Huawei released the Mate 60pro, more than 90% of its components are domestic, and the systems and chips are also from China. This news shocked the outside world, especially the news about the 7nm chip used in the Kirin 9000S.
Although the process method of domestic 7nm chips is not as advanced as foreign countries, we have proved with practical actions that through time and effort, we will always come to the forefront of technology. Just like in the atomic bomb era, we did great research and development by hand.
U.S. response
Despite Huawei's outstanding results, senior U.S. official Raimondo remains tough, but his words no longer frighten China. We respond with facts and continue to advance the development of chips.
No matter how much pressure is exerted by the outside world, the Chinese nation has a tenacious fighting spirit. This time, in the field of chips, we can also create our own miracles.
In the face of the mainland's new technology, Raimondo's strategy is more defensive. She proposed dumping China's low-end chips while continuing to ban the export of high-end chips.
Game and the future
In business, interests come first. In contrast, reliable and high-quality low-end chips in China are bound to be more popular. And when it comes to high-end chips, we already have the dominance. U.S. sanctions are only temporary.
The former hegemon now also needs to taste compromise. The era of the "Golden Shield" of the United States has passed, and a new situation is taking shape.