China's Semiconductor Industrial Policy: And the American and Western Response

Over the past decade, the Chinese government has spent some $100 billion to build its semiconductor supply chain, at the same time weaning itself from American and other nations’ competing technologies. China’s industrial policy has already given it a dominant global position in legacy chips used in automobiles and home appliances, as it gains in cutting-edge semiconductor technology needed for AI. Are American policies designed to slow China’s rise having the desired effect? And what are other countries doing to maintain their own competitive edge? Eric Harwit is a Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu. His work focuses on the political economy of industrial development in China. He has written about foreign investment and trade issues in China’s automobile, telecommunications, renewable energy, and other high technology industries. His most recent co-edited book is China’s Globalizing Internet: History, Power, and Governance (Routledge, 2022).