Just as U.S. sanctions threaten Beijing's efforts to become self-reliant in Semiconductor, X i Jinping renewed calls for China to step up the development of technology critical to national security.
The so-called "whole nation system" that propelled China's space and nuclear weapons programs was invoked by the president. He told the Party summit that the government should be more involved in the process.
Beijing is growing more concerned about Washington's stepped-up efforts to contain China's efforts to advance in fields from artificial intelligence to the $600 billion global Semiconductor arena.
After years of targeting specific companies, the US is now imposing restrictions on the whole Chinese economy. The Biden administration implemented new controls over the sale of artificial intelligence chips to Chinese customers, a blow to the development of cutting edge technologies, and is weighing an executive order that would curtail investment in the country.
According to the partner at Beijing-based Trivium China, the US competition strategy is leaning more blatantly towards containing China. The leaders want to make sci-tech not just an endeavor for the government, but a whole-of-society effort.
There is a lot to know about China's sweeping tech crack down.
Increasing frustration in Beijing with a years-long failure to develop chips that can replace U.S. circuitry would only be made worse by an increase in US efforts.
In the last few months, China has launched a number of anti-corruption probes. Over the past decade, tens of billions of dollars have poured into the sector, but senior officials are angry that they haven't produced the kind of breakthrough that came from previous national-level scientific endeavors, according to a report. Washington has succeeded in containing Beijing's technological ambitions.
In recent years, the role of state institutions has been prioritized over that of private companies in order to spur technological advancement.
In order to win strategic initiative opportunities, competitive advantages should be achieved in certain sectors, according to a report. To get major undertakings done, a pool of resources is needed.
Despite a slowing economy, tensions with Russia and frustration over his Covid strategy, the supreme Party post is expected to be retained by Xi. Billions of dollars in direct state funding are involved in a broad array of government-backed tech programs.
It's not yet known how much progress they can make. It is difficult for innovation to be state-directed.
China is using artificial intelligence to fuel the next industrial revolution.
The "whole nation" approach was first introduced to help the then-fledgling Communist China industrialize and was crucial to helping Beijing achieve a number of top national priorities. As officials focused on economic growth, it was mostly set aside. Following a series of U.S. sanctions that exposed the vulnerabilities of China's chip capabilities, the mechanism to achieve breakthrough in advanced chip development and manufacturing is once again being activated.
About a trillion dollars of government funding has been set aside under the technology initiative, part of which will be used by central and local governments to invest in a series of third- generation chip projects, according to a report. The ministries of science and information technology have received proposals from top chipmakers and research institutions in order to be included in the national program.
The policy priorities of China's leader include self-sufficiency in technology, as well as energy, health care and rural development. The use of resources from water and grain to minerals and raw materials needs to be more efficient. He called for a reduction in carbon emissions in the production of goods and services.
China should set up a pricing mechanism that reflects the scarcity of resources as well as the cost of damage to the environment, according to the report.
With help from Rogers.
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