Recently, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s ban on resurgence of ZTE’s papers has almost killed Zhongxing. The reason behind this is self-evident: China is still subject to control over many key components and core technologies. ZTE Corporation is also located outside the United States. It is difficult to find alternatives.
The US embargo on chips is definitely not aimed at a company of ZTE. In the future, it is possible to expand the scope of the embargo. Huawei's current investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice is a clear testimony. This has a great impact on China. Currently, although the country can already produce Some chips, including general-purpose CPUs represented by Loongson and Haiguang, still accounted for more than US$260 billion in chip imports last year.
The level of design and manufacturing of high-end chips can represent the overall technological level of a country. Frankly speaking, the manufacturing level of domestic chips has a gap of more than two generations from abroad, and the gap has not narrowed in recent years.
The biggest problem is that we have not yet mastered the initiative to close the gap. If we grasp the initiative, after years of hard work, the gap can be narrowed down to the first generation or even tied in. It is only a matter of time before the gap is smoothed. Unfortunately, this initiative is not in our hands.
The reason is not which chip company does not work hard, but because the integrated circuit is the most basic industry in the information field. The gap in chip strength is not a gap between two technologies, from chip processing equipment, simulation software to supporting various IPs (knowledge (property rights) and so on need to accumulate over a long period of time before they can make progress. It does not mean that as long as the country is willing to invest money, it can immediately see the effect with hundreds of billions of yuan.
In addition, at present, China's chip and software vendors need to support R&D projects rather than R&D projects. Instead, we try and improve them. Our experience with Loongson CPUs is that the most difficult thing is not to be inferior to people, but to make products difficult to find. The core technology and key products are constantly being tried and iterated in the application, and it is not always an unknown - both chips and operating systems. Microsoft's operating system is also perfected by playing 'patch' based on user feedback.
Therefore, China has a policy of preferential procurement of core products for domestic R&D production. It is often heard from integrators and application departments that: 'When domestic chips are done as good as foreign ones, I will use you.' Take this attitude Absolutely cannot support the development of the domestic integrated circuit industry.
For a long time, our country’s scientific research and industrialization have entered such a vicious cycle: Foreign monopoly or embargoes – China has developed alternative products – Foreign price cuts and suppression – Our country has given up support – Maintaining or expanding the gap. Often foreign countries have strict control over us. We attach importance to independent research and development; once we relax abroad, we will relax, lack of strategic vision and strategic determination.
For the support of key technologies such as key chips, the country must have a strong strategy. To maintain long-term stable support, the policy can not be swung. High-end chips, large-scale software, aero-engines, and precision instruments are very complex systems and require long-term accumulation of experience. , Improvements from generation to generation. When new products begin trials, it must be a matter of trial and error. Exposing problems is a good thing. Don't see problems before you get rid of them, or sloppy change the technology route. We must believe that after the hard work, problems will surely increase. The less.
At the same time, we may need to understand the trial opportunities for independent products and the initial market from a higher perspective. Looking at the world today, almost all developed countries import low-end products and export high-end products. Throughout the history of the world, Late-developing countries move from low-end products to high-end products. Few countries have used the domestic market to protect and cultivate their own products. Germany and the United States have surpassed Britain, and Japan’s Meiji Restoration has adopted a tariff protection policy.
Under the situation that China’s accession to the WTO has now become a banner for promoting globalization, we cannot repeat the old methods of protecting national industries through customs duties in history. However, relying solely on the so-called “fair competition” of companies in the world, it depends entirely on the market. With hands, it is impossible to achieve a backward country from the low end of the industry to the high end. It is necessary to rely on the government hand to open up a market in the country as a base area to nurture and develop key industries that determine the fate of the country.
Of course, the situation in which the core technology is controlled by people is unlikely to change immediately. Everyone must have a clear understanding of the long-term nature and arduous nature of developing core technologies, and at the same time have enough patience, perseverance, and confidence in supporting China's information industry from the low to the high end. .
If you can use the embargo on ZTE, and further strengthen the country's determination to nurture high-end industries based on the domestic market, then bad things will become a good thing. This will certainly greatly accelerate China's process of becoming a technological power with safe control through independent innovation.
Author: Chinese Academy of Engineering, Guo-Jie Li