Chinese President Xi Jinping has for a decade called for breakthroughs to be made to untangle China from what it called “stranglehold technologies” – a total of 35 of them, seven of which are related to semiconductors, according to state media.

In a widely circulated video on Chinese social media platforms, a Peking University professor was seen telling his students that based on their study, it will take 400 years to get China to where it is today if it were to fully research, develop and build the high-speed train system on its own. 

Without unfettered access to the global supply chains for semiconductors, can China’s chip ambitions come true?

A recruitment specialist said that even as China tries to push its advanced manufacturing sector, it is coming up against a skills mismatch.

“China wants to see that advancement provides greater efficiency and productivity, not just from its own labour force, but also to be seen as the hub and spoke within the Asian markets for global companies that want to invest in manufacturing capability,” said Ms Jaya Dass, managing director of recruitment firm Randstad Asia-Pacific.

“(But) China is struggling to find the right amount of talent in that scope. Its labour supply market is not matching its skill sets to advance itself in digitisation and automation.”