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Ties That Bind - Bay Area Council Economic Institute

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<strong>Ties</strong> <strong>That</strong> <strong>Bind</strong><br />

implemented, risk restricting the national technological<br />

level and preventing Chinese entrepreneurs from<br />

achieving success globally.<br />

� China’s current “chip craze” will eventually subside<br />

and the fragmented markets are expected to consolidate,<br />

leading to dominance by a few globally capable<br />

firms in each section of the semiconductor industry<br />

ecosystem. Minimum efficient scale may not be soon<br />

possible in some areas such as cutting edge CPUs<br />

and advanced fab equipment, leaving a choice between<br />

1) using legacy technology, 2) sourcing from<br />

international markets, or 3) paying heavy and perpetual<br />

subsidies to obtain a security and prestige benefit.<br />

� The low cost (labor and construction) environment in<br />

China is almost certainly temporary. Investments<br />

made today that are duplications, contribute to over<br />

capacity, or are made in firms that are not truly globally<br />

capable have the very real potential of limiting<br />

China’s future prosperity and prestige. There is a<br />

“window of semiconductor industry development opportunity”,<br />

and very limited funds to invest.<br />

� China’s internal barriers to growth, especially the desire<br />

by local governments to create and protect small<br />

“prestige” SI clusters, have the potential to handicap<br />

Chinese entrepreneurs in achieving global success.<br />

The provincial and even municipal customs inspections,<br />

regulations, licenses, and product certifications<br />

designed to exclude both foreign and intra-Chinese<br />

imports may very well reduce China’s global competitiveness<br />

in many industries, not just semiconductors.<br />

For multinational companies (MNCs), China’s environment<br />

again offers opportunities and risks. The institutional support for<br />

IP protection is still weak, which limits MNCs’ desire and ability<br />

to invest substantial resources in China. A second limiting factor<br />

is that the domestic market’s needs are far from typical of the<br />

world market, not only in the costs and price points of products<br />

(as in consumer electronics, for example), but also in the formats<br />

and standards that the world market requires.<br />

MNCs to date have utilized their China operations to gain access<br />

to the China market, and to establish an export platform to<br />

the rest of the world. These twin activities have been quite

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