China's plans for greater self reliance are facing increased pushback from overseas.
A semiconductor wafer fabrication facility. Semiconductor production is one area where China is expected to fall short of its Made in China 2025 production targets. Credit: Picryl/Library of Congress
Newport Wafer Fab, a microchip plant based in Wales, has a potential buyer that is making the British government nervous — the Chinese-owned semiconductor maker Nexperia. In fact, the possible sale of this small company with just 450 employees is worrisome enough for U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to have ordered a review on national security grounds.
The U.K.’s concerns are the latest example of the way foreign governments have grown suspicious of Chinese companies shopping for domestic firms, particularly in sensitive sectors like semiconductor production.
"Chinese leaders are clear on the role of semiconductors as part of their quest to dominate the industries of the future,” Tom Tugendhat, chairman of a parliamentary committee that scrutinizes the government’s foreign policy, said in an emailed response to The Wire, adding that the initial decision to “let one of the U.K.’s few semiconductor fabs fall into the hands of a strategic competitor” was “surprisin
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