Chinese officials warned that chips are dependent on imports. According to the Financial Times, a Chinese government minister warned that China still lags far behind foreign competitors in producing semiconductors, and that more than 95% of high-end chips for computers and servers need to be imported. Although it has invested huge amounts of money to catch up.
According to Xin Guobin, deputy minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, at a forum of academic and industry experts in Beijing, 'We have decades of gaps with developed countries, and the road to building a strong country is still very long.'
According to the report, China accounts for nearly one-third of its exports, including mobile phones, and telecommunications equipment and computers rely on imported semiconductors for manufacturing. According to the World Bank and the Chinese government, in 2016, China imported $227 billion. The chip, more than the expenditure of imported oil.
Before Xin Guobin made the above remarks, ZTE, one of China's largest telecom equipment manufacturers, was almost overwhelmed by US sanctions. The US sanctioned the company because it violated the ban on Iranian and North Korean exports. Also violated the terms of the settlement agreement with the United States on this issue.
The report quoted experts as saying that the ZTE incident has accelerated China's efforts to promote 'semiconductor sovereignty'.
The report also pointed out that according to Xin Guobin's warning, more than 95% of the manufacturing and testing equipment used in China's aircraft, aircraft engines and automobiles are imported.