Posted by Keyman188 > 2021-03-05 17:07 | Report Abuse

China pledged to boost spending and drive research into cutting-edge chips and artificial intelligence in its latest five-year targets, laying out a technological blueprint to vie for global influence with the U.S.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang singled out key areas in which to achieve “major breakthroughs in core technologies,” including high-end semiconductors, operating systems, computer processors and cloud computing -- areas in which American firms now hold sway. Beijing will also aim to get 56% of the country on faster fifth-generation or 5G networks. Nationwide R&D spending will increase by more than 7% annually, which “is expected to account for a higher percentage of GDP” than during the previous five years, he added.

China is moving quickly to cut its dependence on the West for crucial components like computer chips, an issue that became more urgent after a global shortage of semiconductors worsened during the pandemic. Beijing is also making big bets on emerging technologies from hydrogen vehicles to biotech while looking to ensure its own chipmakers can compete with the likes of Intel Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. That encompasses a new emphasis on silicon design software and so-called third-generation chipmaking -- two areas critical to Beijing’s drive to achieve technology self-sufficiency.

“Innovation remains at the heart of China’s modernization drive,” Li said in an address to the National People’s Congress in Beijing on Friday. “We will strengthen our science and technology to provide strategic support for China’s development.”

Li’s speech punctuated goals enumerated in China’s 14th five-year plan, also released Friday, which prioritized advances in younger spheres such as quantum computing, neural networks and DNA banks. The document enshrines a multi-layered strategy both pragmatic and ambitious in scope, embracing aspirations to replace pivotal U.S. suppliers and fend off Washington, while molding homegrown champions in emergent fields.

Chipmakers including Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co. and China Resources Microelectronics Ltd. rose more than 3% on mainland bourses in the afternoon. But Hong Kong-listed Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., China’s largest chipmaker, slipped in tandem with a broader global tech-shares selloff.

At stake is nothing less than the future of the world’s No. 2 economy. Beijing is moving swiftly while the Biden administration escalates a battle against what it called “techno-autocracies.” That could extend or even expand blacklistings that banned key transactions with corporations from Huawei Technologies Co. to ByteDance Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

To a country that imports $300 billion of chips annually, a worsening global shortage drives home the risk of relying on potentially hostile suppliers for the building blocks of everything from AI to next-generation networks and autonomous vehicles. Friday’s report formalized China’s ambitions to develop its own software for semiconductor design -- supplanting tools from American firms Cadence Design Systems Inc. and Synopsys Inc.


Cont...

Posted by Keyman188 > 2021-03-05 17:07 | Report Abuse

It also pledged to develop its own advanced chip manufacturing technologies and key materials that comprise third-generation chips. The country aims to secure first-mover advantage in that nascent arena, involving compounds such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride and chips can operate at high frequency and in higher power and temperature environments, with broad applications in fifth-generation radio frequency chips, military-grade radar and electric vehicles.

While specifics of that endeavor won’t emerge for months, Friday’s documents provided important clues about the envisioned roadmap. That includes building more national laboratories and innovation centers, as well as ramping up efforts to implement a little-heard of program called the Sci-Tech Innovation 2030 Agenda. Beijing also revealed plans to try and entice more talent from abroad via a “technology immigration system,” likely targeting semiconductor hotbeds from Silicon Valley to Taiwan.

Open sharing of data will be key, according to the report. Beijing is establishing a platform for sharing public and government data, while simultaneously crafting policies to ensure the security of that information. In a related move, the five-year plan called on technology giants such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. to share key data, dealing a further blow to companies already reeling from heightened antitrust scrutiny.

“Basic research is the wellspring of scientific and technological innovation,” Li said. “So we will ensure the stable functioning of funding mechanism for basic research and boost spending in this area by a considerable sum.”

Posted by Keyman188 > 2021-03-05 17:08 | Report Abuse

## https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-05/chinese-premier-calls-for-major-breakthroughs-in-core-tech?srnd=premium-asia

Posted by Keyman188 > 2021-03-05 17:12 | Report Abuse

China Deals Fresh Blow to Tech Giants in Reach for Data

(Bloomberg News / March 5, 2021, 12:27 PM GMT+8)

~ Alibaba, Tencent control vasts amounts of consumer data

~ Beijing has stepped up antitrust regulation of tech firms


China called on its technology giants to share key data, dealing a further blow to the companies already reeling from heightened antitrust scrutiny.

Companies are encouraged to open up data related to areas from search to e-commerce and social media, in order to promote the healthy development of the sharing and online economies, according to a government report outlining the Communist Party’s top priorities for the next five years. Beijing is also establishing a platform for sharing public and government data.

While Xi Jinping’s government has long identified data as a key resource, it’s the first time that the opening up of data amassed by private-sector companies has been included in the country’s top economic guidelines. Beijing in November launched a sweeping crackdown on alleged monopolistic practices in its giant internet industry, worried about the growing influence of its largest private corporations thanks to the vast swathes of information they’ve hoovered up.

Industry behemoths Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. as well as up-and-coming competitors like ByteDance Ltd. and Meituan have at their disposal vast amounts of proprietary information, gathered from the hundreds of millions of consumers shopping on their platforms and using social-media apps like WeChat and Douyin. Surrendering that data could undermine their market-leading positions and deal a heavy blow to their ability to squeeze out smaller competitors.

Antitrust regulators in November unveiled new rules to stamp out monopolistic practices in its tech industry, cracking down on practices such as forced exclusive arrangements with merchants known as “Pick One of Two” to algorithm-based prices favoring new users. Beijing also intends to better regulate the collection and use of consumer data, according to a plan by the general offices of the powerful Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council, the cabinet.

The 14th Five Year Plan released on Friday didn’t provide specific details on how companies should share their data.

“China’s thinking on data policy has made a game-changing evolutionary leap,” Kendra Schaefer, head of digital research at Trivium China in Beijing, said before the National People’s Congress. “Increasingly, in the eyes of Chinese policymakers, creating the legal and technical infrastructure to support the marketization of data is not a nice-to-have, but an immediate economic imperative.”

Data ownership and security has long been a flash point between China and rival nations, especially the U.S. Under the Trump administration, Washington had sought to ban services by ByteDance and Tencent, arguing that the companies could allow Beijing to gather data from tens of millions of American users. Corporations are already required to provide access to their technology and assist with investigations involving crime and national security, under a 2017 Cybersecurity Law.

Beijing’s stance is echoed by at least one of its tech moguls. “To grab users, every app is spending huge resources in building up content that can only be viewed within the app,” Baidu Inc.’s Robin Li said in a proposal to China’s top lawmaker. The effectiveness of his company’s leading search engine relies on open online information. “They become ‘information islands’ separated from each other.” He suggested the government set up a pilot program to break up such barriers among internet services vital to daily lives.


## https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-05/china-deals-fresh-blow-to-tech-giants-in-reach-for-data

Posted by Keyman188 > 2021-03-05 17:16 | Report Abuse

In battle with U.S., China to focus on 7 ‘frontier’ technologies from chips to brain-computer fusion

(PUBLISHED FRI, MAR 5 20213:11 AM EST)

~ China is looking to boost research into what it calls “frontier technology” as it competes with the U.S. for supremacy in the latest innovations.

~ In its 14th five-year plan, China laid out seven technology areas it will focus research on including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors and space.

~ Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday that China would increase research and development spending by more than 7% per year between 2021 and 2025, in pursuit of “major breakthroughs” in technology.


GUANGZHOU, China — China is looking to boost research into what it calls “frontier technology” including quantum computing and semiconductors, as it competes with the U.S. for supremacy in the latest innovations.

In its five-year development plan, the 14th of its kind, Beijing said it would make “science and technology self-reliance and self-improvement a strategic pillar for national development,” according to a CNBC translation.

Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday that China would increase research and development spending by more than 7% per year between 2021 and 2025, in pursuit of “major breakthroughs” in technology.

China’s technology champions such as Huawei and SMIC have been targeted by U.S. sanctions as tensions between Beijing and Washington have ramped up in the past few years.

As such, China has concentrated on boosting its domestic expertise in areas it sees as strategically important, such as semiconductors. And now it has laid out seven “frontier technologies” that it will prioritize not just for the next five years, but beyond too.


Cont...

Posted by Keyman188 > 2021-03-05 17:19 | Report Abuse

1) Artificial intelligence (AI)

China plans to focus on specialized chip development for AI applications and developing so-called open source algorithms. Open source technology is usually developed by one entity and licensed by other companies.

There will also be an emphasis on machine learning in areas such as decision making. Machine learning is the development of AI programs trained on vast amounts of data. The program “learns” as it is fed more data.

AI has been a key field for Chinese companies and the central government over the last few years. Major companies such as Alibaba and Baidu have been investing in the technology.

China and the U.S. are competing for AI dominance. A group of experts chaired by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said China could soon replace the U.S. as the world’s “AI superpower.”



2) Quantum information

This is category of technology involves quantum computing. This is a totally different concept from the computers we use today and holds the promise of being able to aid in ambitious feats such as the creation of new medicine.

Quantum computing is seen as another area of competition between the U.S. and China.



3) Integrated circuits or semiconductors

Semiconductors are a critical area for China and one it has invested a lot in over the past few years but the country has struggled to catch up to the U.S., Taiwan and South Korea.

The problem is the complexity of the semiconductor supply chain. Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung are the two most advanced chip manufacturers but they rely on tools from the U.S. and Europe.

Washington has put SMIC, China’s biggest chip manufacturer, on an export blacklist called the Entity List. SMIC cannot get its hands on American technology. And the U.S. has reportedly pushed to stop Dutch company ASML from shipping a key tool that could help SMIC catch up to rivals.

Since China doesn’t have the companies that can design and make the tools that its chip manufacturers require, it relies on companies from other countries. This is something China wants to change.

In its five-year plan, China says it will focus on research and development in integrated circuit design tools, key equipment and key materials.

Chips are incredibly important because they go into many of the devices we use such as smartphones but are also important for other industries.



4) Brain science

China plans to research areas such as how to stop diseases of the brain.

But it also says that it plans to look into “brain-inspired computing” as well as “brain-computer fusion technology,” according to a CNBC translation. The five-year plan did not elaborate on what that could look like.

However, such work is already underway in the U.S. at Elon Musk’s company Neuralink. Musk is working on implantable brain-chip interfaces to connect humans and computers.



5) Genomics and biotechnology

With the outbreak of the coronavirus last year, biotechnology has grown in importance.

China says it will focus on “innovative vaccines” and “research on biological security.”



6) Clinical medicine and health

China’s research will concentrate on understanding the progression of cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic diseases.

The government also says that it will research some “cutting-edge” treatment technologies such as regenerative medicine. This involves medicine that can regrow or repair damaged cells, tissues and organs.

China says it will also be looking at key technologies in the prevention and treatment of major transmissible diseases.



7) Deep space, deep earth, deep sea and polar research

Space exploration has been a top priority for China recently. Beijing said it will focus on research into the “origin and evolution of the universe,” exploration of Mars as well as deep sea and polar research.

In December, a Chinese spacecraft returned to Earth carrying rocks from the moon. It was the first time China has launched a spacecraft from an extraterrestrial body and the first time it has collected moon samples.

And in July, China launched a mission to Mars called Tianwen -1.



## https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/05/china-to-focus-on-frontier-tech-from-chips-to-quantum-computing.html

Posted by Keyman188 > 2021-03-08 15:52 | Report Abuse

Heightened semiconductor demand to continue in the long term — Lam Research

(theedgemarkets.com / March 08, 2021 15:11 pm +08)

KUALA LUMPUR (March 8): Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Lam Research Corp is expecting the current heightened demand for semiconductor chips to continue in the long term as technology becomes increasingly involved in more aspects of life, and sees its new factory in Batu Kawan, Penang, helping it to address this greater demand.

At a press conference following Lam Research’s Virtual Roof Topping Out Ceremony, Lam Research Corp manufacturing corporate vice president Mike Snell noted that in the past year, the group has doubled its staff headcount and increased its supply chain purposes, and has been driven to expand beyond its Batu Kawan manufacturing facility.

“We see this demand continuing to increase for the long term. Our decision to invest in Malaysia is timely and will prove to be the right strategy.

“It has been an extraordinary challenge to grow at this rate, with so much headwind. We have found a way, as have our suppliers and have benefited from extraordinary partnerships between the federal and state governments here in Malaysia,” Snell opined.

He noted that the semiconductor industry has seen an extraordinary amount of growth and that no one could have anticipated how the development of work-from-home or remote working arrangements would drive demand.

Snell added that this heightened demand has offered new opportunities for the wafer fabrication equipment and services provider’s current and new suppliers and that Lam Research had to expand its supply base quite rapidly with partners that can help meet the needs of its end-customers.

“This presents a fantastic opportunity over the next couple of years where there is still a forecast for robust growth,” he said.

The new factory in Batu Kawan will be the group’s largest manufacturing facility, among its existing facilities in the US, Austria, South Korea and Taiwan.

To put this into context, Lam Manufacturing Malaysia general manager and senior director Soon K Kuek said its upcoming Batu Kawan facility, which on schedule to open in the middle of 2021, will be larger than its two currently largest manufacturing facilities combined, both of which are located in the US.

She noted that a significant portion of its components come from local partners but declined to provide further specifics in percentage or value terms.

“The reason that we do not want to put a lot of focus on the exact numbers [is] we do not want people to lose sight of the other additional material benefits from this.

“Material cost in percentage spend is one thing, but what this number does not represent is the number of job opportunities that this local sourcing will create, or the knowledge transfer, the talent development and adding to the vibrancy of the already very robust supply chain," Kuek said.

Snell also added that the group intends to further grow its existing supply base in Malaysia, and expects total supply share to grow from Southeast Asia — especially Malaysia — due to the rapid growth of the industry.

Additionally, Kuek also announced that selected vendors will be chosen to participate in a vendor development programme.

These vendors should have a basic understanding of the semiconductor industry, display flexibility and agility, and have shared values, she said.

Snell added the group was looking beyond its traditional semiconductor partners and into fields such as the aerospace and medical devices industry.

In February last year, Lam Research announced that it would be spending RM1 billion to build the factory, which is located on 138ha of land in Penang. It aims to create 350 high-value jobs when it opens.


## https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/heightened-semiconductor-demand-continue-long-term-%E2%80%94-lam-research

Posted by Keyman188 > 2021-03-08 16:33 | Report Abuse

Time to catch the right falling knife...


Bingo...............