Geopolitical competition has turned the semiconductor industry into a key sector being contested globally. As a US-China technology dispute continues to heat up, Washington is implementing a “small yard and high wall” technology control strategy in an attempt to slow China’s development of semiconductors, and to prevent high-end artificial intelligence (AI) chips from being used for Chinese military purposes. On the other hand, Beijing is trying to break through that wall, using talent mobility and AI as shortcuts.
China’s semiconductor industry faces four major bottlenecks: semiconductor equipment for advanced manufacturing processes, electronic design automation (EDA) software for semiconductor design, high-end AI chips and semiconductor talent.
In particular, the US’ restriction on exports of extreme ultraviolet equipment has made it more difficult for China to obtain technology more advanced than the 7-nanometer manufacturing process, which has become a key factor in constraining its development.
By adopting the technology of optical proximity correction, China has attempted to improve the low yield rate of deep ultraviolet multiple exposure processes caused by the optical proximity effect. It has also utilized AI to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of optical proximity correction in an attempt to break through the technological bottleneck and the US blockade.
The US “small yard and high wall” blockade focuses on the extreme ultraviolet equipment and deep ultraviolet lithography equipment, as well as high-end AI chips and EDA software.
It also prohibits US citizens from assisting China in the development of high-end chips. China has responded to the US controls in a roundabout way, through pre-stocking, shell companies and even smuggling.
Chinese start-up SEIDA has made significant progress in optical proximity correction through the transfer of core EDA talent from Siemens, demonstrating that in the face of US bans, the outflow of talent would result in a spillover of technology to China.
Taiwan must be careful in its response to this situation to ensure that it can maintain a leading position in the complex US-China-Taiwan “silicon triangle.”
The government should not only develop a list of national core and critical technologies to bolster its mastery of semiconductor technology, but also cooperate with international allies in a multilateral export control system to prevent the outflow of advanced chip technology to China, as well as the illegal transfer or mobility of key semiconductor equipment, technology and talent, to protect core technologies and outstanding semiconductor talent.
Recently, the EU has pushed for “de-risking” its economy from China and strengthening export controls to prevent sensitive dual-use technologies from being leaked to China through overseas investments. Meanwhile, Taiwan should enhance the cultivation and retention of semiconductor talent, bolster independent innovation in IC design and continue to develop emerging semiconductor technologies such as silicon photonics, small chip packaging and AI applications, to ensure the competitiveness of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, and to push the industry to new peaks.
Liao Ming-hui is an assistant researcher at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research.
Translated by Eddy Chang
On March 22, 2023, at the close of their meeting in Moscow, media microphones were allowed to record Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dictator Xi Jinping (習近平) telling Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin, “Right now there are changes — the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years — and we are the ones driving these changes together.” Widely read as Xi’s oath to create a China-Russia-dominated world order, it can be considered a high point for the China-Russia-Iran-North Korea (CRINK) informal alliance, which also included the dictatorships of Venezuela and Cuba. China enables and assists Russia’s war against Ukraine and North Korea’s
After thousands of Taiwanese fans poured into the Tokyo Dome to cheer for Taiwan’s national team in the World Baseball Classic’s (WBC) Pool C games, an image of food and drink waste left at the stadium said to have been left by Taiwanese fans began spreading on social media. The image sparked wide debate, only later to be revealed as an artificially generated image. The image caption claimed that “Taiwanese left trash everywhere after watching the game in Tokyo Dome,” and said that one of the “three bad habits” of Taiwanese is littering. However, a reporter from a Japanese media outlet
Taiwanese pragmatism has long been praised when it comes to addressing Chinese attempts to erase Taiwan from the international stage. “Taipei” and the even more inaccurate and degrading “Chinese Taipei,” imposed titles required to participate in international events, are loathed by Taiwanese. That is why there was huge applause in Taiwan when Japanese public broadcaster NHK referred to the Taiwanese Olympic team as “Taiwan,” instead of “Chinese Taipei” during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. What is standard protocol for most nations — calling a national team by the name their country is commonly known by — is impossible for
India is not China, and many of its residents fear it never will be. It is hard to imagine a future in which the subcontinent’s manufacturing dominates the world, its foreign investment shapes nations’ destinies, and the challenge of its economic system forces the West to reshape its own policies and principles. However, that is, apparently, what the US administration fears. Speaking in New Delhi last week, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau warned that “we will not make the same mistakes with India that we did with China 20 years ago.” Although he claimed the recently agreed framework
RSS