
TAIPEI -- Beijing's push for technological self-sufficiency is on the verge of a major breakthrough, with the country's nascent chip industry on track to produce around 5% of the world's memory chips by the end of 2020 from virtually zero last year, sources familiar with the matter told the Nikkei Asian Review.
Beijing, which has made artificial intelligence a strategic priority, has pumped billions of dollars into building out a viable semiconductor industry from scratch over the past few years. The initiative has gained extra urgency following Washington's ban on China using certain U.S. technologies, such as memory chips that can be used in military and security equipment.