China has been accused many times of copying famous brands and stealing their ideas. So, China’s manufacturers slightly changed the label, e.g. ABIBAS spot shoes or MOKIA smartphones. However, the country seems to have taken to the next level.
Former Conservative Party Leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith believes that China is currently using rather dubious methods to ensure it becomes a world leader in stealing semiconductor technology. "China is busy stealing technology, getting other people’s intellectual property rights, and buying up companies," Duncan Smith said.
The UK lawmaker lashed out at China after the state-owned company acquired UK firm Newport Wafer Fab, a leading manufacturer of chips. At the beginning of July 2021, Chinese company Nexperia announced its intention to buy it. The UK authorities launched an investigation into this transaction as they were concerned about national security issues. However, later they refused to interfere in the situation.
"I think the government is in an unholy mess over this. I wonder in the course of this failure to make a decision did they look at what China thinks of semiconductors? China is the busiest exporter in the world and is busy buying up semiconductor technology everywhere it can find it. They have identified semiconductor technology as one of the key areas that they need to dominate globally," Duncan Smith stressed. He criticized the government’s suggestion "that a semiconductor is not strategic when the technology in there will be used in almost everything we do, everything we produce that is electronic". Sir Iain warned the UK authorities that "we should have blocked this deal" using recently acquired powers under the National Security and Investment Act.
