China’s President Xi Jinping, on a discovery tour of a large industrial province, renewed his call for better creation and technological self-reliance, as the United States curbs on Chinese access to advanced technologies. China should hasten the upgradation of important technologies and core products, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Friday, citing Mr Xi during his visit to a company’s high-tech manufacturing zone in eastern Jiangsu province.
“With the constant growth of information technology and the emergence of disruptive technologies at any time, it is important to maintain a solid footing on the path of innovation and provide to the realisation of high-level self-reliance in technology,” Mr Xi said. Mr Xi’s call to polish technological creativity comes as US-China tensions over semiconductors that start with the Trump administration’s trade war intensify under President Joe Biden’s leadership.
Washington is creating new rules on sales of artificial intelligence microchips, following a sweeping set of export controls last year to cut China off from several semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with US equipment. The US is also thinking about stopping flow of its investments and know-how into Chinese companies working on advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. To save the growth of China’s technology sector, Mr Xi has increasingly called for more self-reliance and the requirement to gain scientific breakthroughs, turning even to state firms to win the “battle” of important core technologies and safeguard China’s industrial safety.