In response to U.S. restrictions on China's access to advanced chip production technologies, Chinese companies began to invest in the expansion of production capacities that process wafers using legacy nodes, such as 28nm, 45 nm, and older. This has raised concerns in the U.S. and Europe about China potentially flooding the market with mature chips, thus driving competitors out of business and then using chips as leverage, leading to discussions on further restraining China's influence in the semiconductor sector, Bloomberg reports.
The expansion of capacities capable of making chips on 28nm, 45nm, and older technologies, as well as various specialty nodes by companies like Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) and Hua Hong, is making American and European officials nervous. Older chip fabrication technologies are still critical for various industries, which is why politicians fear that chips made on mature nodes might become a strategic advantage for China, which raises significant security risks.
.jpg?w=600)
