Chinese state-backed semiconductor maker Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. Ltd. billed itself as a national leader in the tech industry. It planned to drive a shift toward locally made chips and end a heavy reliance on imports, especially from the United States.
"The era of Chinese chips has arrived," it said in a recent promotional online pamphlet to attract chip industry talent. Underneath was a picture of a circuit board emblazoned with the Chinese flag.
"China once relied on chip imports, but the tireless work of untold numbers of chip experts has meant that from 90 percent imports we have been able to attain localized production," it said, highlighting a high-skilled global workforce harking from the United States, Japan and South Korea.