The U.S. "chip war" against China seems to be intensifying. After continuing to obstruct the export to China of high-end chip manufacturers and chip equipment manufacturers using relevant US technologies and components, recently, at the instigation of some US anti-China congressmen, the United States seems to be about to start "making trouble" in the field of mature process chips, intending to completely "decouple" from China in this regard.
Late last week, the chairman of the "China Committee" of the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, and the Democratic leader of the committee, Raja Krishnamosi of Illinois, jointly sent a letter to Biden's senior business and ***, urging Biden to take tough measures to prevent China's dominance in the field of mature process chips, and said that like high-end chips, China also threatens the United States in the field of mature process chips
Gallagher and Krishnamosi called on Biden to take some new measures, including tariffs, to avoid the so-called "over-dependence" of the United States on China for mature process chips. Mature process chips are indispensable basic components for many industries, including electronic products, automobiles and home appliances, and China's position in the field of mature process chips cannot be replaced for the time being.
It is worth noting that in July and November last year, Gallagher and Krishna Mosi also sent letters to Biden**, asking the United States** to carry out relevant investigations into Chinese-made artificial intelligence products and drones.
In fact, in recent months, the U.S. Congress and Biden** have moved to allocate allocations from the $53 billion in CHIPS Act funds to support the production of mature process chips in the United States. However, due to the low profit margin of mature process chips, the domestic chip industry in the United States is "not very interested" in the relevant subsidies, and the industry has always been opposed to the "chip war" launched by the United States.
However, since "being tough on China" is a necessary bargaining chip for the United States in the first year, Biden must also express an "accepting" attitude towards cracking down on China's mature process chips. However, if punitive tariffs are really imposed on China's mature process chips, it will still be American consumers and downstream manufacturers who will ultimately pay for it, and if they attack Chinese chips again, it will inevitably hurt the interests of American allies. Not to mention, Biden has previously insisted that he has "no intention of decoupling from China", and if he suppresses China's mature process chips, it will be tantamount to a "direct slap in the face".
Some members of the U.S. Congress have recently hyped up the threat of China's chip security again, and their actions can be said to be "not too rational but not less harmful", coupled with the so-called demand for additional tariffs, which has aroused great opposition in the American business community. "Decoupling and breaking the chain" with China will only outweigh the losses in the end, how to deal with it, I advise Biden to act prudently.
This article was compiled from an editorial in China** on January 10.
Original title: Self-damaging chip move off the old block
Produced by: China's ** Editorial Office.
Compiler: Tu Tian.