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The Paradox of US Sanctions on China: How US Sanctions Are Accelerating China’s Technological Independence: China Increases Semiconductor Production Through Its Own Technological Development
- Writing language: Korean
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Summarized by durumis AI
- The US has been strengthening its restrictions on semiconductor exports to China, including raising tariffs on legacy semiconductors and imposing sanctions on advanced technologies. However, experts argue that these sanctions could paradoxically lead to China's technological independence.
- Following the sanctions, China's semiconductor production has increased, and it is securing its own technological capabilities. It has also been found to be acquiring cutting-edge semiconductors through indirect means such as smuggling.
- The US's actions, including tariff hikes, are being implemented after the US presidential election and are merely executive orders, raising questions about their effectiveness.
Since 2022, the US has been expanding the intensity and scope of its pressure on China after implementing semiconductor export restrictions. In May this year, the US announced plans to raise tariffs on legacy (older) semiconductors from 25% to 50%, and is also considering further sanctions on advanced semiconductor technologies such as GAA (Gate-All-Around) and HBM (High Bandwidth Memory). However, experts argue that the US sanctions are causing a "sanction paradox", where they are actually accelerating China's technological self-reliance.
"We need to pay attention to the fact that China's semiconductor exports, both in terms of volume and value, have started to increase since the end of last year," pointed out Jeon Byung-seo, director of the China Economic and Financial Research Institute. After the end of 2022, the US withdrew all its engineers who repaired semiconductor equipment from China. This caused temporary disruptions in normal operations at semiconductor production plants in China. However, the recent increase in semiconductor production demonstrates that Chinese semiconductor factories are operating normally. "China used to rely on American engineers for technology, but it seems that they have now developed the capability to install equipment themselves," explained Jeon.
There are also concerns that advanced semiconductors are being brought into China through third countries despite the US sanctions. In August 2022, the US banned the export of high-performance AI chips such as NVIDIA's A100 and H100, but China is reportedly securing advanced chips through smuggling markets and other roundabout methods. Recently, Hong Kong media outlet South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that "the market for smuggling NVIDIA's A100 and H100 AI chips into China is rapidly expanding." Oh Jung-hyuk, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, analyzed, "Chinese companies have secured numerous informal routes to acquire advanced AI chips, including lease agreements with external cloud server companies or purchases through subsidiaries."
There are also criticisms that the recent measures taken by the US, such as tariff increases, lack effectiveness. This is because the tariff increase on general-purpose semiconductors is scheduled for 2025, after the US presidential election, and it is merely an executive order that the government can easily reverse.
