China launches $47bn chip fund to counter U.S. restrictions

BEIJING -- China's government has launched a new state-backed semiconductor fund worth 344 billion yuan ($47 billion), in a strategic move to counter U.S. efforts to limit its access to advanced technology.

The latest in a funding series designed to bolster the Chinese chip sector, the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Phase III was formally registered last Friday, according to the Chinese corporate information service Qichacha. This phase is by far the biggest: The first started in 2014 with an investment of about 140 billion yuan, while the second opened in 2019 at about 200 billion yuan.