Why Can’t China Make Semiconductors?
After decades of failure, it may now be on the right track.
How hard can it be?
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Jack Ma says he's ready for China to make semiconductors at home. It's a longstanding goal for the Chinese government. And thanks to a recent crackdown on certain technology exports by the U.S., it's now a critical one. The question is whether China can finally conquer this challenge after decades of failures.
Semiconductors are the building blocks of electronics, found in everything from flip phones to the servers that make up a supercomputer. Although China long ago mastered the art of making products with semiconductors produced elsewhere (the iPhone is the most famous example), it wants to move beyond being a mere assembler. It aspires to being an originator of products and ideas, especially in cutting-edge industries such as autonomous cars. For that, it needs its own semiconductors.