Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow with the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes on the full range of topics relating to national defense, foreign policy and international security. Dowd’s commentaries and essays have appeared in Policy Review, Parameters, Military Officer, The American Legion Magazine, The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, The Claremont Review of Books, World Politics Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Jerusalem Post, The Financial Times Deutschland, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Examiner, The Detroit News, The Sacramento Bee, The Vancouver Sun, The National Post, The Landing Zone, Current, The World & I, The American Enterprise, Fraser Forum, American Outlook, The American and the online editions of Weekly Standard, National Review and American Interest. Beyond his work in opinion journalism, Dowd has served as an adjunct professor and university lecturer; congressional aide; and administrator, researcher and writer at leading think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, Sagamore Institute and Fraser Institute. An award-winning writer, Dowd has been interviewed by Fox News Channel, Cox News Service, The Washington Times, The National Post, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and numerous radio programs across North America. In addition, his work has been quoted by and/or reprinted in The Guardian, CBS News, BBC News and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dowd holds degrees from Butler University and Indiana University. Follow him at twitter.com/alanwdowd.

ASCF News

Scott Tilley is a Senior Fellow at the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes the “Technical Power” column, focusing on the societal and national security implications of advanced technology in cybersecurity, space, and foreign relations.

He is an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. Previously, he was with the University of California, Riverside, Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and IBM. His research and teaching were in the areas of computer science, software & systems engineering, educational technology, the design of communication, and business information systems.

He is president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, past president of INCOSE Space Coast, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow.

He has authored over 150 academic papers and has published 28 books (technical and non-technical), most recently Systems Analysis & Design (Cengage, 2020), SPACE (Anthology Alliance, 2019), and Technical Justice (CTS Press, 2019). He wrote the “Technology Today” column for FLORIDA TODAY from 2010 to 2018.

He is a popular public speaker, having delivered numerous keynote presentations and “Tech Talks” for a general audience. Recent examples include the role of big data in the space program, a four-part series on machine learning, and a four-part series on fake news.

He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria (1995).

Contact him at stilley@cts.today.

China Chases Self-Reliance in Chips, but the U.S. Still Holds a Trump Card

Friday, May 8, 2020

Categories: ASCF News Emerging Threats Economic Security

Comments: 0

China’s efforts to reduce its reliance on American chips continue apace as the world’s two largest economies head for a collision once again.

Sales at HiSilicon, Huawei’s in-house chip design company, jumped 54% last quarter from a year earlier, making it the first Chinese company to enter the top ten in global semiconductor sales, according to market research firm IC Insights. More than 90% of HiSilicon’s sales go to Huawei, according to the report.

The Trump administration’s restrictions on U.S. companies selling to Huawei has forced the Chinese company to find alternatives to its American suppliers. While smartphone shipments in China collapsed 20% in the first quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, Huawei’s market share has gone up to 43% from 36% a year earlier, according to IDC. As a result, HiSilicon has also overtaken Qualcomm in China as the top vendor for system-on-chip, an integrated circuit containing the central processor in smartphones. HiSilicon’s Kirin chipsets go into Huawei’s smartphones, including its flagship model P40 Pro. China’s buildout of 5G networks will also boost HiSilicon, whose chips will power Huawei’s base stations.

But Huawei still isn’t totally self-reliant. HiSilicon is a so-called fabless semiconductor company which doesn’t have its own manufacturing plant. It relies on foundry companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to make its chips. The Trump administration is preparing rules that could restrict TSMC’s sales to HiSilicon. Huawei may be storing up chip inventories in anticipation of such tighter restrictions.

Huawei may shift some of its orders to Chinese foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., but technology there still lags behind industry leaders like TSMC and Samsung. SMIC’s Hong Kong-listed shares nonetheless have gained 43% this year as investors expect more orders coming from other Chinese companies. Its stock got a boost this week as it unveiled a plan to raise potentially billions of dollars on Shanghai’s Science and Technology Innovation Board, which could give the company a much higher valuation.

But ultimately SMIC’s capabilities could be hampered if the Trump administration decides to dial up the pressure in its campaign against China. The Commerce Department said last week that it would expand the list of U.S.-made products and technology shipped to China that need to be reviewed by national security experts before shipping. SMIC depends on foreign semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including some from the U.S.

In the race for 5G supremacy and technological self-sufficiency, Huawei has steadily gained ground over the past two years despite American pressure. But the U.S. still holds a powerful trump card at the top of the value chain, should it choose to use it.

Photo: A chip from HiSilicon, Huawei’s in-house chip design company. - PHOTO: CHINA STRINGER NETWORK/REUTERS

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-chases-self-reliance-in-chips-but-the-u-s-still-holds-a-trump-card-11588932443?mod=tech_listb_pos3

Comments RSS feed for comments on this page

There are no comments yet. Be the first to add a comment by using the form below.

Search