Chinese Science and Technology

China betting on next-generation chip production despite US curbs – FT, 02.11.2024.

Washington has introduced a slew of export restrictions aimed at stalling advances in China’s semiconductor industry.

Chinese chipmakers expect to make next-generation smartphone processors as early as this year despite US attempts to hinder the Asian nation’s technological advancement, the Financial Times reported this week.

According to the report, citing people familiar with the matter, China’s top chipmaker SMIC has put together new semiconductor production lines in Shanghai to mass produce chips designed by Huawei. SMIC plans to use its existing stock of US and Dutch-made equipment to produce five-nanometer chips, the sources said.

“With the new 5nm node, Huawei is well on track to upgrade its new flagship handset and data center chips,” one of the sources told FT. In September 2023, the sanctions-hit Chinese tech giant started successfully selling its Mate 60 Pro smartphone that uses high-end seven-nanometer chips.

Faced with mounting restrictions, the Chinese government has been investing heavily to develop a self-reliant semiconductor supply chain. The administration of US President Joe Biden introduced a sweeping set of export controls in 2022 aimed at slowing China’s technological advance, claiming national security concerns. Among the measures was a ban on sales to China of certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with US equipment, and a block on shipments of chips for supercomputing systems and artificial intelligence.

China has repeatedly criticized the export curbs, claiming that they run counter to globally recognized market rules. Last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Washington’s restrictions go beyond the concept of national security and destroy supply chains.

Beijing has also announced its own sanctions on five American defense industry companies, citing arms sales to Taiwan and the unilateral sanctions that the US has slapped on Chinese companies and individuals. Meanwhile, some industry reports have argued that Washington’s tech curbs are not working as intended while Chinese companies have continued buying US chip-making equipment using gaps in export controls.

https://www.rt.com/business/591958-china-chip-production-us-restrictions/

SMIC recently finished building an expansion to its 7nm FinFET capable fab. They basically doubled the floor space with production expected to follow.

Chinese semi tool vendors also keep growing their revenue at double digits yearly. They are growing faster than the rest of the industry. One of the Chinese semi tool vendors even entered the world's top 10 semi tools vendors by revenue. And this while basically only selling tools in China unlike the others. Chinese semi tools also continue to grow in sophistication.

Naura: https://www.naura.com/index.html?l=english
AMEC: https://www.amec-inc.com/en/
SMEE: http://www.smee.com.cn/eis.pub?service=homepageService&method=selectlang&setlang=EN&showform=portal/index_en.ftl

Who’s Laughing Now? China’s Shrewd Planning Paved Way for Manufacturing Dominance, by John Miles for Sputnikglobe.com. 02.25.2024.

The success of China in a number of areas owes to the country’s unique economic system, unlike anything else in the world.

Among the many adjectives that could be used to describe tech magnate Elon Musk, “humble” is not one of them.

When a US journalist warned Musk in 2011 that Chinese company BYD Auto sought to compete in the electric vehicle (EV) space, the Tesla CEO literally laughed off the prospect.
“Have you seen their car?” Musk asked derisively, adding he didn’t see the upstart manufacturer as a competitor at all.

Some 13 years later, the more relevant question may be whether BYD should view Musk as a threat as China’s EV industry seems poised to dominate the global market.

The numbers are striking. After years of double-digit increases, EV sales in China accounted for 60% of global purchases in 2022. Last year BYD surpassed Tesla in total electric vehicles sold worldwide. One-third of EVs purchased anywhere are BYD cars.

Now, trade barriers against the domestic sale of Chinese vehicles are the primary factor preventing BYD from dominating the US market as well, as the Xi'an-based manufacturer rolls out affordable cars unmatched by anything from Musk. That’s set to change as BYD explores assembling vehicles in North America.

How was BYD able to turn the tide so quickly? The answer lies in smart industrial planning that has allowed China to lead in the manufacture of everything from smartphones to solar panels.

As former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping pursued economic reform in the 1980s, Western leaders declared victory. Won over by the efficiency and superiority of US capitalism, China had abandoned communist dogma and would soon join the ranks of the “free world,” we were told. With the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama claimed human civilization had reached “the end of history,” with the only remaining questions pertaining to minor tweaks and refinements of the free-market system.

Those paying closer attention knew China never abandoned Marxist analysis, but rather sought a contingency that allowed the developing country to access global investment and technology. Offering cheap labor and little regulation, Beijing was able to lure global manufactures eastward, learning Western methods in the process.

Decades later China’s efforts have paid off as the country has built the largest middle class in the world. With trillions of dollars of wealth at his disposal, President Xi Jinping has reaffirmed shared prosperity as China’s guiding principle, claiming the world power will develop into a modern socialist society in the years to come.

“What does any of this have to do with eclectic vehicles?” you may ask. The answer is that China’s success in this area was only made possible by its unique economic system. China threw open the doors to global market forces in the 1980s but maintained the leading role of the Communist Party. As a result, its government is able to quickly and effectively launch new industries through the provision of grants and subsidies.

But China’s newfound financial largess isn’t the only factor at play. State ownership of the country’s largest banks allows leaders to funnel profits towards infrastructure that makes China the best place in the world to manufacture goods. Shrewd planning has allowed the country to maintain its competitive edge even as workers enjoy rising wages.

Additionally, China makes great efforts to ensure its workforce is trained to meet the needs of businesses worldwide. Apple CEO Tim Cook summed up the reason for China’s success in a 2015 interview, noting simply, “It's skill.”

“China put an enormous focus on manufacturing, in what you and I would call vocational kind of skills,” Cook said. “I mean you could take every tool and die maker in the United States and probably put them in the room that we're currently sitting in. In China you would have to have multiple football fields.”

Understanding the magnitude of the country’s growing economic dominance provides insight into why relations between China and the United States have reached almost Cold War levels of hostility. The United States lacks the will or capability to transform its economic system overnight. What it does have is Westerners’ fear of the communist-ruled country, which it can endlessly stoke to enforce sanctions and erect barriers to trade.

It also has a ruthless military and intelligence complex capable of undermining perceived enemies around the globe. “We will coup whoever we want!” declared Musk on X (formerly Twitter) in the wake of a 2019 US-backed putsch in Bolivia that set the stage for Tesla and other Western companies to exploit the South American nation’s vast lithium reserves.

Chinese leaders have made it clear their country will not succumb to the same fate. “The US will not stop the rejuvenation of China,” said the country’s foreign minister recently, warning of the “catastrophic consequences” of US aggression.

War with China’s population of 1.4 billion would indeed make mutually-assured destruction certain. Still the question remains whether the hubris of US leaders will make it inevitable.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240225/whos-laughing-now-chinas-shrewd-planning-paved-way-for-manufacturing-dominance-1116981963.html

The Chinese competitor of Tesla's humanoid robot breaks the speed record, 03.04.2024.

The Unitree Robotics Android H1 is 1.80 meters tall, weighs approximately 47 kg and can carry a payload of up to 30 kg. It receives data about the environment from a LiDAR and a head-mounted 360º camera.

The Chinese company Unitree Robotics claims that the new version of its H1 robot, Evolution V3.0, set a new world speed record for humanoid robots, New Atlas reports.

In the video published by Unitree, the H1 robot runs at a speed of 3.3 meters per second (11.9 kilometers per hour). It is also able to dance, jump and go up and down stairs.

The originally announced version of the H1 is 1.80 meters tall, weighs approximately 47 kg and can carry a payload of up to 30 kg. Each of its legs can move in five directions thanks to the hip, knee and ankle joints. The shoulder and elbow joints provide the ability to move in four directions.

The H1 is positioned as a competitor to Tesla's Optimus, and the Unitree Robotics website indicates that its speed can potentially reach 5 meters per second.

The humanoid robot receives information about its surroundings at a 360º angle from a 3D LiDAR+ depth camera and via a head-mounted Intel RealSense D435i camera. The data from these devices is analyzed in real time using two Intel Core i7-1265U microprocessors.

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https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/501124-video-competidor-chino-robot-humanoide