Chips, small but powerful electronic components, have become the core of today's technological development. Whether it is artificial intelligence, 5G communication, electric vehicles, or electronic products such as smartphones and tablets in daily life, they are inseparable from the support of chips. However, in this seemingly ordinary field, China and the United States have staged a fierce contest and wrestling.
1. The origin of the "chip war" between China and the United States
Looking back on the causes of the "chip war" between China and the United States, we have to start from 2019. That year, the U.S. government began to impose a series of severe sanctions on Chinese tech giant Huawei, citing "national security". U.S. companies are prohibited from selling chips and related technology to Huawei, in an attempt to cut off Huawei's access to advanced chips. In the years since, the United States has escalated sanctions on Huawei, even to other Chinese technology companies.
In the face of containment and repression from the United States, the Chinese government and companies have not flinched. On the contrary, China has increased investment and construction in the local chip industry, and vigorously developed independent and controllable chip technology. In the process of "forced" independent innovation, China's chip industry has made great progress, and the self-sufficiency rate has been continuously improved.
Second, the game between the two sides has escalated
Entering 2023, the "chip war" between China and the United States is intensifying. On the one hand, the United States continues to tighten chip export controls on Chinese companies such as Huawei; On the other hand, chip products independently developed by Chinese companies continue to be launched, challenging the monopoly position of the United States in the chip field.
Taking Huawei as an example, under the condition of long-term blockade by the US government, Huawei's self-developed Kirin 9000S chip was finally released, completely crushing the United States' attempt to completely cut off its chip supply. However, the United States did not stop suppressing it, but canceled the export licenses to Huawei for chip giants, including Qualcomm and Intel.
The move is undoubtedly aimed at hindering Huawei's development in areas such as artificial intelligence and electric vehicles, and preventing Chinese technology companies from overtaking the United States in key areas. Nvidia has been repeatedly restricted from exporting advanced AI chips to China for the same reason.
3. China accelerates "domestic substitution"
In the face of heavy pressure from the United States, China has accelerated the pace of construction of its local chip industry. The Chinese government provides support to domestic chip companies in terms of finance, talent, R&D and other aspects, and encourages innovation and breakthroughs.
In recent years, China's chip industry has made gratifying progress. Data shows that before the outbreak of the "chip war" between China and the United States, China was highly dependent on imported chips, and the annual import of chips to the United States exceeded 400 billion US dollars. However, with the acceleration of domestic substitution, China's chip imports have been declining year by year. In 2023, China's chip imports have fallen to $349.4 billion, down nearly $100 billion from two years ago. In the first four months of 2024, imports will only be $48 billion, down 11.4% year-on-year.
It is not difficult to see that under the pressure of US sanctions, China is accelerating its realization of chip self-sufficiency. This is both a forced result and an actively chosen strategy. The Chinese government and companies have finally realized that there is a serious risk of over-reliance on imported chips, and that they must be autonomous and controllable in order to ensure the initiative in technological development.
Fourth, the "consensus" of the two sides: not to rely on each other
On the whole, the "chip war" between China and the United States seems to have reached a tacit "consensus": the United States no longer sells key chip technology to China, and China is also trying to reduce its dependence on American chips imports. Both sides are preparing for a possible full-scale technological confrontation in the future.
From the perspective of the United States, it hopes to slow down China's development in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and 5G communications, and win more time for American companies to consolidate their leading position.
China, on the other hand, is determined to achieve independent and controllable chips and break its dependence on foreign technology. The progress of the past few years has proved that with the strong support of the central policy, China's chip industry is moving from quantitative accumulation to qualitative leap.
Fifth, the road to win-win: open cooperation
Although the "chip war" between China and the United States cannot be stopped for the time being, both sides should seek a way out of openness and cooperation in the long run. The development of science and technology requires a global vision, and the power of any one country is limited. Only openness and inclusiveness can achieve a win-win situation.
For the United States, the huge potential of the Chinese market cannot be ignored. Long-term "containment" of China's technological development may deprive American companies of rare business opportunities. Compared with the blockade, openness and cooperation is undoubtedly a more pragmatic and win-win path.
For China, although the pace of independent innovation is accelerating, it will be difficult to be completely self-sufficient in the short term. Reasonable imports are still needed. In addition, maintaining openness is conducive to the development of Chinese enterprises and talents, learning from advanced international experience, and improving their own standards.
Overall, the "chip war" between China and the United States reflects the fierce competition between the two major powers in the field of science and technology. However, whether it is mutual sanctions or "if you don't sell, I won't buy", it is not conducive to the long-term interests of both sides and even the global development of science and technology. Openness and cooperation are the right path to win-win results, and we have reason to look forward to this.