China Advances Chip Ambitions With Plan for a $30 Billion Plant

China Advances Chip Ambitions With Plan for a $30 Billion Plant
Fotolia

Tsinghua plans to build a $30 billion memory-chip production complex that will become China’s largest, even as U.S. officials raise concerns about the country’s intention of dominating an industry crucial to the computing and smartphone markets, according to Bloomberg.

The arm of the government-linked Tsinghua group intends to erect a semiconductor complex around an envisioned plant in the eastern city of Nanjing that will have an initial monthly capacity of 100,000 wafers. That will help China “leapfrog development in mainstream storage,“ according to a statement carried on the company’s website.

Tsinghua, the investment and technology affiliate of the university attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is leading a $150 billion charge to develop a world-class semiconductor industry and reduce the country’s reliance on foreign technology. The U.S. however is concerned that a dominant China could threaten the competitiveness of American players and even national security.

Tsinghua’s plant will mainly make the 3D-NAND and DRAM memory chips used in smartphones, personal computers and other consumer electronics. The surrounding “city“ consists of packaging facilities, residences for employees and other support structures, according to the statement, but the spokesman declined to comment further.