- Local government, SDIC may join China’s biggest-ever chip fund
地方政府、国投公司可能加入中国有史以来最大的芯片基金 - Washington urges allies to tighten China export controls
华盛顿敦促盟友加强对中国的出口管制
A silicon wafer.Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg
一块硅片。摄影师：Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg
By Dong Cao and Yuan Gao
作者：曹东和高原 2024年3月8日 at GMT+8 17:38 2024年3月8日 GMT+8 17:38
China is in the process of raising more than $27 billion for its largest chip fund to date, accelerating the development of cutting-edge technologies to counter a US campaign to thwart its rise.
中国正在筹集超过270亿美元，用于迄今为止最大的芯片基金，以加速发展尖端技术，以应对美国阻碍其崛起的运动。
The National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund is amassing a pool of capital from local governments and state enterprises for its third vehicle that should exceed the 200 billion yuan of its second fund, according to people familiar with the matter.
据了解情况的人士透露，国家集成电路产业投资基金正在从地方政府和国有企业那里筹集资金，用于其第三期基金，该基金的规模应超过其第二期基金的2000亿元人民币。
Known as the Big Fund, the state-backed firm is expanding its remit just as the US prepares to sharply escalate technology curbs designed to curtail Chinese chip and artificial intelligence progress.
这个被称为大基金的国家支持的公司正在扩大其职权范围，正当美国准备大幅升级旨在遏制中国芯片和人工智能进步的技术限制措施之际。
The establishment of a much larger third fund — directly overseen by China’s powerful tech ministry — signals a resurgent effort to harness the world’s largest semiconductor market after years of mixed success with central stewardship. Huawei Technologies Co. and its partner Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. still had to rely on US-origin technology to build an advanced processor last year.
一个规模更大的第三期基金的建立——直接由中国强大的科技部门监管——标志着一个复兴的努力，要利用世界上最大的半导体市场，在中央管理多年成效参差后。华为技术有限公司及其合作伙伴中芯国际集成电路制造有限公司去年仍然不得不依赖美国原产技术来构建一个先进的处理器。
A majority of the capital for the Big Fund’s third-phase vehicle is expected to come from local governments, their investment arms and state-owned enterprises, while the central government will only contribute a fraction, said one of the people. Beijing’s goal now is to pool valuable capital across the country for major projects, a key element in President Xi Jinping’s “whole nation” approach, according to the person.
据一位知情人士透露，大基金第三期资金的大部分预计将来自地方政府、其投资机构和国有企业，而中央政府只会出资一小部分。该人士表示，北京现在的目标是在全国范围内集中宝贵资本用于重大项目，这是习近平主席“全民动员”方法的关键要素。
Beijing’s renewed push for self-reliance is taking place as the US urges allies including the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea and Japan to further tighten restrictions on China’s access to semiconductor technology and plug holes in existing export controls. The Big Fund is pivotal to China’s push.
在美国敦促包括荷兰、德国、韩国和日本在内的盟友进一步加强对中国获取半导体技术的限制，并堵塞现有出口管制中的漏洞之际，北京重新推动自力更生。大基金对中国的推动至关重要。
The governments of Shanghai and other cities, China Chengtong Holdings Group and State Development and Investment Corp. are among investors that look to commit billions of yuan each to the third-phase fund, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.
据知情人士透露，上海市政府和其他城市政府、中国诚通控股集团和国家开发投资公司等投资者，都在考虑向第三期基金各自投入数十亿元人民币，这些人要求在讨论私事时不要透露身份。
That fund will help finance three to four pools of capital managed by other general partners under a so-called “fund of funds” structure to diversify deal sourcing and investment strategies. Fund III, as it will be known, will also directly back local firms, the people said. Negotiations about the fundraising are still ongoing and may take months to finalize, the people added.
该基金将帮助资助由其他普通合伙人管理的三到四个资本池，采用所谓的“基金中的基金”结构，以实现交易来源和投资策略的多样化。据这些人士称，第三期基金，即将被称为基金III，也将直接支持当地企业。关于筹资的谈判仍在进行中，可能需要数月时间才能最终敲定。
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Shanghai’s government, Chengtong and SDIC didn’t respond to requests for comment.
中国工业和信息化部、上海市政府、诚通和国家开发投资公司没有回应置评请求。
The secretive Big Fund is China’s primary vehicle for providing local chipmakers with financial aid. Founded in 2014, it has drawn about $45 billion in capital and backed scores of companies, including local chipmaking champions SMIC and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co.
神秘的大基金是中国为本地芯片制造商提供财政援助的主要工具。成立于2014年，它已经吸引了大约450亿美元的资本，并支持了众多公司，包括本地芯片制造领军企业中芯国际和长江存储技术有限责任公司。
The SMIC headquarters in Shanghai.Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
上海中芯国际总部。摄影师：沈其亮/彭博社。
Shanghai-based SMIC is the main chipmaker to Huawei. It successfully made a 7-nanometer processor for the Mate 60 Pro in 2023, a feat the US had thought was beyond China’s reach.
总部位于上海的中芯国际是华为的主要芯片制造商。2023年，它成功为Mate 60 Pro制造了一款7纳米处理器，这是美国认为中国无法达到的成就。
The second phase of the fund, created in 2019, now holds stakes in 48 local chip firms. The inaugural pool, set up in 2014, is a shareholder in 74 companies and startups, according to corporate database Tianyancha.
该基金的第二阶段成立于2019年，目前持有48家本地芯片公司的股份。根据企业数据库天眼查的数据，该基金在2014年设立的首个资金池是74家公司和初创企业的股东。
Entities receiving capital from the Big Fund are considered to have formal endorsement from Beijing. That usually helps open doors to other potential investors and win more policy support.
接受大基金资本的实体被视为获得了北京的正式认可。这通常有助于为其他潜在投资者打开大门，并赢得更多政策支持。
Yet the fund has operated mostly behind the scenes and kept investment standards away from public view, which some critics said undercut accountability.
然而，该基金主要在幕后运作，并将投资标准隐藏于公众视野之外，一些批评者说这削弱了问责性。
Read More: China’s ‘Big Fund’ Gets New Boss to Fight US Chip Export Curbs
阅读更多：中国“大基金”迎来新领导，对抗美国芯片出口限制
It slowed investments after an anti-graft probe in 2022, which led to the downfall of its previous chief and several other officials. Top Chinese leaders ordered investigations after they grew frustrated with a lack of breakthroughs in developing semiconductors to replace foreign imports after years of ample government investments.
在2022年的反腐调查之后，它减缓了投资，这导致其前任总裁和其他几位官员的下台。在经过多年大量政府投资后，由于在开发半导体以取代外国进口方面缺乏突破，中国高层领导下令进行调查。
The Big Fund sprang into action again toward the end of last year, investing over 10 billion yuan in two-year-old Changxin Xinqiao Memory Technologies Inc.
大基金在去年年底再次行动起来，向成立两年的长鑫新桥存储技术有限公司投资超过100亿元人民币。
Founded in 2021, the little-known Changxin Xinqiao shares some shareholders and its general manager with China’s leading DRAM chipmaker Changxin Memory Technologies Inc., which is also headquartered in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei, according to Tianyancha.
根据天眼查的信息，成立于2021年的鲜为人知的长鑫新桥与中国领先的DRAM芯片制造商长鑫存储科技有限公司有部分股东和总经理是共享的，后者也位于中国东部的合肥市。
