The modern IT industry is heavily dependent on electronic component manufacturers. Those who have developed technologies, if they do not own the world, then at least manage the development of the entire industry. Now the US is in the lead, and the country is actually waging "electronic wars" with its main competitor, China, seeking to close access to key technologies for companies from the Middle Kingdom.
One of these companies, Huawei, has so far withstood the onslaught, maintaining its leadership position. She tries to get around the restrictions in order to continue to receive the necessary resources. Where this is not possible, Huawei is acting differently by developing alternative chips and software. And not only Huawei - now the whole of China has taken a course towards import substitution. The government of the country is actively stimulating the development of its own technologies that can replace American ones, and it does this very effectively.
$ 1.4 trillion in 5 years
This is exactly how much the country is going to invest in high technologies until 2025. The funds will be provided to Chinese companies, electronics and software manufacturers, to create their own 5G technologies, smart gadgets, as well as develop AI products.
It is already known that the funds will be received by Alibaba Group, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, SenseTime Group Ltd. and a number of other high-tech companies. The main task set before them is to reduce the dependence of China's electronics industry on other countries, mainly the United States. This was announced at the launch of the Made in China 2025 program. By the way, immediately after the announcement, the program was harshly criticized by the US presidential administration, as well as by Donald Trump himself. This program is one of the reasons for the "electronic wars".
But China continues to move towards its goal, even at the cost of several lost battles, for the sake of winning a decisive battle. This year , $ 563 billion will be allocated for the development of the corresponding infrastructure . Of course, there is no guarantee that the country will be able to achieve its goal, but China seems to be doing everything that depends on it.
Not only the Celestial Empire allocates colossal funds for the development of the electronic industry. South Korea has previously announced the launch of a similar program aimed at developing areas such as AI and wireless technologies. But only China has the ability to catch up and overtake the United States.
According to the goals of the Made in China program, enterprises from 31 provinces will receive investments. Finances are not only state-owned - funds are also allocated by private capital. According to Western analysts, in particular Morgan Stanley, the development of China's infrastructure will require even more money than originally planned. Not more than a trillion, but about $ 2 trillion. In some cases, China is going to replace technologies from IBM, Oracle, EMC and other companies that it uses with its own.
For example, equipment in data centers in China will gradually be replaced by domestic ones. Developers and suppliers of such equipment will receive significant funds. Chindata Group estimates that for every dollar spent on data center development, there are between $ 5 and $ 10, which are received by representatives of related industries, including energy companies, network equipment manufacturers, etc.
Besides a massive investment program, China is using something else.
Headhunting
This is, of course, about hiring specialists. It is clear that if China plans to become No. 1 in the development and production of electronic chips, then this country needs the best specialists, and many more. You can train professionals inside the country, which is what China does, but you can also hire experts with the necessary experience and knowledge from outside. China is doing this too.
Where is a smart person looking for leaves? In the forest, of course. Where is an intelligent person looking for stones? On a pebble beach. Where can you find an expert in the design and manufacture of chips? Of course, in Taiwan, at TSMC.
Two Chinese companies are currently on the hunt for talent: Quanxin Integrated Circuit Manufacturing (QXIC) and Wuhan Hongxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (HSMC). They have already managed to luremore than a hundred employees , having made them an offer that they do not refuse. Namely, the Chinese offered TSMC engineers exactly twice the salary.
In general, hunting and enticing specialists is a common practice in the IT industry. But for TSMC, this is a problem, since the company employs not many professionals capable of developing new chips. Yes, TSMC employs about 6,000 engineers, but only 150 of them are PhD. And in just a week, the Chinese lured two-thirds of valuable personnel from TSMC.
The Chinese have big plans for them, since HSMC is building an enterprise for the production of 14nm processors, having invested $ 18.4 billion in it. In the near future, the country hopes to master the 7nm process technology. The post of HSMC CEO is occupied by former TSMC COO Chiang Shang-yi. True,It says that HSCM in August had financial problems, but the company - one of the contenders for a few billion dollars in the program Made in China, as discussed above.
The management of the Taiwanese chip maker is well aware of what all this threatens the company, so TSMC is taking urgent measures to eliminate the threat. In particular, equipment suppliers were prohibited from sharing technological solutions with Chinese partners that were developed by the order of the company. Also, engineers began to raise wages so that the conditions in China were not too attractive for them.
Source: 3dnews
In addition, China is hunting for specialistsfor the production of electronic components and in South Korea. Back in August, a lot of vacancies for electronics professionals with excellent conditions appeared on local sites. The Chinese are hiring specialists of all profiles to quickly set up production processes. In particular, a business from the PRC is looking for experts in semiconductor lithography, etching, annealing and other similar professions. They are all related to the production of chips.
Even though South Korea is imprisoned for three years for the transfer of trade secrets, this does not stop anyone from switching to Chinese competitors.
All this looks like a well-coordinated operation, which shows good results - more and more specialists in microelectronics are sent to China to work. The Celestial Empire continues to pour money into the development of the relevant industry. Will China be able to lead it? It is difficult to say so far, but all the prerequisites for this exist.
