China’s tech hub to import more integrated circuits, steel itself against US sanctions after Huawei handset leap
- Shenzhen saw the value of its integrated-circuit imports fall sharply in the first half of the year, prompting local authorities to offer more support in a new three-year plan
- Beijing has high hopes for Shenzhen and its role in ensuring that China becomes technologically self-sufficient in the face of crippling US curbs on technology transfers
The hometown of telecoms giant Huawei and drone maker DJI has plans to boost its imports of integrated circuits and other hi-tech equipment, as the administration of US President Joe Biden could tighten curbs on Chinese access to advanced technologies.
Shenzhen, dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley”, aims to lift its import value of integrated circuits (ICs), a key component needed for local high-end industries, to 800 billion yuan (US$110 billion) by 2025, according to the city’s three-year action plan dated September 3 but only made available to the public a week ago.
That would mark a doubling of 2017’s imports, and is equivalent to about 29 per cent of the national import total last year.
The value of the city’s IC imports fell 17.7 per cent from a year earlier to 278.5 billion yuan in the first half of this year.
“We’ll provide support for the import of important equipment and key components, such as semiconductors, integrated circuits, and ultra-high-definition displays,” the government plan says.
