The investment is a boost to China's domestic semiconductor industry as it tries to reduce its reliance on other countries. China will invest an additional $1.9 billion in Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC), the country’s biggest memory chip producer, to spur the growth of its domestic semiconductor industry, which is currently being cramped by US sanctions. China’s National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, a government-backed investment body also known as the Big Fund, will inject the capital into YMTC, Bloomberg reported Friday. The magnitude of the investment shows China’s effort to boost its struggling home-grown chip industry, which is currently facing constraints on its manufacturing capabilities from the US and other countries. China’s quest for self-reliance Last month, The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China conducted the third collective study on bolstering basic research, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency. In the group study, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the country to hasten scientific research so it can become self-sufficient in vital technologies, the report noted. The president emphasized that the party committees and the government at all levels should strengthen basic research, improve overall coordination, increase policy support, and promote high-quality development of research. China’s Academy of Science has also provided a plan to create a semiconductor industry in China that can thwart the sanctions levied by the US. The study on strengthening basic capacity for semiconductor research outlines China’s view of how it can win the technological war with the US. US ramps up trade bans against China China is focusing on self-reliance as the US is seeking to prevent Western technology from being used to modernize the Chinese military. On Thursday, the Biden administration added 37 more entities to a trade blocklist, including units of Chinese cloud computing company Inspur. The organizations were added for, “among other activities, contributing to Russia’s military and/or defense industrial base, supporting PRC military modernization, and facilitating or engaging in human rights abuses in Burma and in the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” the US department of commerce said in a statement. “When we identify entities that pose a national security or foreign policy concern for the United States, we add them to the Entity List to ensure we can scrutinize their transactions,” said Assistant Commerce Secretary, Thea D. Rozman Kendler. The commerce department accused Inspur of procuring and attempting to procure US goods to support China’s military modernization efforts. In early October, the US issued export controls that restrict US firms from selling advanced semiconductors as well as equipment required to make them to some Chinese manufacturers unless they receive a special license. In mid-December, the administration expanded those restrictions to include 36 more Chinese chipmakers from accessing US chip technology, including Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation (YMTC), the target of the Chinese government’s latest investment. Now, the latest move by the US will perhaps stir up more tension in its already-strained relationship with China. Related content feature Q&A: Georgia Tech dean details why the school needed a new AI supercomputer Georgia Tech partnered with Nvidia to roll out its first supercomputer so students can experiment with AI and machine learning to better prepare for a job market where those skills are now critical to success. By Lucas Mearian Apr 29, 2024 12 mins CPUs and Processors Education Industry Generative AI how-to A new Windows 11 backup and recovery paradigm? If used properly, new features built into Windows 11 offer safe, nearly complete backup, restore, repair, and recovery operations without third-party tools — but there are some caveats worth knowing. By Ed Tittel Apr 29, 2024 17 mins Windows 11 Backup and Recovery Windows feature Windows 11 Insider Previews: What’s in the latest build? Get the latest info on new preview builds of Windows 11 as they roll out to Windows Insiders. Now updated for Build 22635.3566 for the Beta Channel, released on April 26, 2024. By Preston Gralla Apr 26, 2024 251 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Windows 11 news Dropbox adds end-to-end encryption for team folders Dropbox this week unveiled a range of features, including security updates and key management, and the ability to co-edit Microsoft 365 documents from within the file-sharing app. By Matthew Finnegan Apr 26, 2024 3 mins Cloud Storage Collaboration Software Productivity Software Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe