Whether it is chip materials, chip design, chip manufacturing and packaging and testing, we are all subject to some degree of limitation. This time, the US signed a chip bill, which means a new round of more comprehensive and more powerful blockade has begun again.

Whether it is chip material, chip design, chip manufacturing and packaging and testing, we are all subject to some degree of limitation. And the higher we go, the more we get stuck. The West has always taken advantage of this and has repeatedly taken action, which has prevented our chip industry from developing.

This time, the United States signed a chip bill, which represents a new round of more comprehensive and more vigorous blockade has begun again. Previously, some people predicted that our lives would be even harder and we should be prepared to fight an arduous battle.

ban expanded

In the chip bill, there is a ban specifically restricting our development of the high-end process chip industry. That is, any semiconductor company that receives subsidies will not expand its chip manufacturing process by 14nm or below in mainland China. The real intention is to lock our chip process to above 14nm.

In fact, before the chip bill, Midea's related actions had already predicted a more serious blockade. At the end of last month, relevant U.S. semiconductor companies said that the Ministry of Commerce has expanded the banned semiconductor equipment from 10nm to 14nm. Now it seems that this is completely laying the foundation for the chip bill.

South Korea is the exception

prohibits the shipment of chip manufacturing equipment with 14nm process and below. This ban not only includes local companies such as SMIC , but also factories built by overseas companies such as Samsung , Micron and other overseas companies in China. The constraints of the bill plus actual actions, in the eyes of Sleepy Joe, this is a foolproof blockade.

But if that happens, Samsung will be uncomfortable. It is different from TSMC in the United States, and the main markets are all here with us. To this end, Samsung has built a large number of chip foundries in the country. As of 2021, Samsung China has invested as much as US$40.1 billion in the field of high-end technology, accounting for about 80% of its total investment.

is like Samsung's factory in Xi'an. It is the base with the largest production capacity of Samsung's flash memory chips, accounting for 42.3% of Samsung's and about 10% of the global production capacity of flash memory chips. In addition, another South Korean semiconductor giant, SK Hynix , is investing a lot and building factories in the country, just like Samsung.

So, when the United States continues to increase its supply cuts, companies such as Samsung have started to have headaches. If their domestic factories cannot introduce advanced equipment, they may lose money in the future. It is also based on this that South Korea is the least concerned about the establishment of the "Four-party Alliance", and even disgusted it.

But the new news on August 29 made South Korea "a new village with dark willows and flowers." According to the report of " East Asia Ilbo ", the United States has promised that the expansion of supply cuts will not affect the factories of Korean companies. Samsung and Hynix can breathe a sigh of relief.

are you afraid?

Microsco is willing to open a special channel, which is surprising. After all, ASML and TSMC wanted to get rid of the influence of supply cuts and continue to do our business, but they were rejected by the United States, resulting in a large loss of market share. Now South Korea has asked for a cut off supply and relaxation, and the result has been passed. Did the US admit defeat this time?

The author believes that there is no. You should know that the factories built by Korean companies in the country are not their own. His technology and equipment cannot flow to our own businesses, so the relaxation of restrictions on him has not had that much impact. Moreover, this is also a letter of vote to win South Korea into the Quadruple Alliance, in order to better limit us in the future.

In essence, this is completely different from TSMC's cut off supply of Huawei and ASML cut off supply of EUV lithography machines. Don't think that the Americans are afraid or the Americans are cowardly. On the contrary, we must be vigilant and firmly determined that only autonomy is the only way.