Press workshop: China’s role in semiconductor production

Semiconductors are indispensable to any industry and our modern, digital society. The production of these chips and their global value chain is characterized by strong interdependencies between different countries and regions. For governments, chips increasingly become a matter of national and economic security. They are at the heart of the US-China technology rivalry and also a central reason behind the recent formation of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TCC), also primarily directed against China's rise in the technology sector.

But what is China's position in the semiconductor value chain? In which production steps is China highly reliant on foreign technology providers? And how likely is China to catch up in a certain step within this decade?

These questions and others were adressed at a virtual press workshop on Wednesday, 21 July with Jan-Peter Kleinhans, Project Director "Technology and Geopolitics at SNV and John Lee, Senior Analyst at MERICS. The experts shared their analysis on the position of China in the semiconductor supply chain. They also answered questions from media representatives, e.g. on existing and planned expansions of export controls and restrictions in the chip sector.