Chip maker SMIC’s founder says ‘optimistic’ China can catch up with US in semiconductors
- Richard Chang Rugin, also the former chief executive at SMIC, said persistent research and development as well as investment in new raw materials would enable China to compete
- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, the mainland’s biggest contract chip maker, raised US$6.5 billion from its Shanghai share sale in July
Richard Chang Rugin, also the former chief executive of SMIC, told a live-streamed forum that persistent research and development as well as investment in new raw materials would enable China to compete, according to an official transcript on Wednesday.
While China’s talent base was a “weakness” in the short-term, Chang said the country had made “great progress” in manufacturing raw materials and remained a leader in superfast 5G mobile technology.
“If China maintains its leadership in 5G technology, it can remain far ahead in wireless connectivity, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, because China already is strong in hi-tech applications,” he said.
The US and China have been fighting over the alleged security risk posed by the products of Huawei for over a year, and relations between the world’s two largest economies have deteriorated since the coronavirus outbreak.
Chang said that during his time at SMIC – the mainland’s biggest contract chip manufacturer – in the early 2000s, the US Commerce Department had been generally supportive of Chinese tech companies. Now, the US agency sees them as its “biggest obstacle”, he said.
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The US government has cited “national security” as reason for the trade restrictions imposed on Huawei.
The US has warned that letting Huawei and other Chinese telecoms gear makers, such as ZTE Corp, in America’s tech infrastructure can endanger the country’s security, as those companies could be obliged to give up information to Beijing.
Shenzhen-based Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment supplier and biggest smartphone vendor in the second quarter, has denied holding any ties to the Chinese government.