China’s Chip Foundries Still Dependent on Foreign Tech Transfers
Although China’s tech industries have made astounding progress in recent years, they have done so only with massive aid — in the form of transfers of technology and know-how — from the United States and other advanced non-communist countries. This is especially true with regard to computer chips. And all of China’s industries are doomed to fall behind unless China’s chip makers obtain the cutting-edge tools necessary to make newer and faster chips.
The beating heart of our modern, electronically dependent society is the semiconductor, also known as the microchip. Semiconductors are produced in “foundries,” also called fabrication plants or “fabs.” Due to the enormous investment costs in building and maintaining a sophisticated chip foundry, many leading chip producers design their own chips but farm out the actual manufacturing to one or more of the relative handful of chip fabricators.
San Diego-based cellphone technology giant Qualcom is a prime example of the “fabless” manufacturing model. Qualcom designs chips for its own products, as well as other companies’ products, but has them fabricated at chip foundries. In 2020, Qualcom was number three on Investopedia’s list of the “Ten Biggest Semiconductor Companies,” with $24.7 billion in revenue. Its chips, which are used in cellphones, wi-fi routers, automobiles, laptops, tablets, watches, and other devices, are fabricated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC).
JBS Member or ShopJBS.org Customer?
Sign in with your ShopJBS.org account username and password or use that login to subscribe.
Subscribe Now
- 24 Issues Per Year
- Digital Edition Access
- Exclusive Subscriber Content
- Audio provided for all articles
- Unlimited access to past issues
- Cancel anytime.
- Renews automatically
Subscribe Now
- 24 Issues Per Year
- Print edition delivery (USA)
*Available Outside USA - Digital Edition Access
- Exclusive Subscriber Content
- Audio provided for all articles
- Unlimited access to past issues
- Cancel anytime.
- Renews automatically