On April 13 at 12:00 noon Moscow time, Valdai Club will host an expert discussion, titled “The Global Chip Race: What Will Be the Outcome for Russia, the US and China?”, timed to coincide with the release of the new Valdai Paper “US CHIPS and Science Act and Its Impact on Russia’s High-Tech Sector”.
The saying “chips are the new oil” aptly describes the role of semiconductors in modern economic development. Semiconductors in the form of microchips can be found in almost every electronic device - from our smartphones to missile attack warning system radars. Chips are the world's fourth most traded commodity after crude oil, petroleum products and automobiles. Today, the prospects for a state’s technological leadership largely depend on its position in the semiconductor market.
The US share of world chip production is only about 10%. However, the US is leading in electronic design automation, scientific research and chip design. China leads the way in chip assembly, packaging, and testing; it has recently begun investing heavily in expanding the entire semiconductor manufacturing chain, which Washington sees as a threat; Beijing is poised to dominate the industry in the not-too-distant future.
Chip production is also developing in Russia. Russian chips are specially equipped to solve a narrow range of tasks related to ensuring the defence capability of the state and maintaining the digital elements of the public administration system. To solve a wider range of production tasks, the import of the chips themselves, raw materials and equipment is still required.
The US CHIPS and Science Act, which has come into force in the United States, is intended to create a separate “mini-universe” within the circle of American allies, within which investments and technologies will be freely flowing. A high wall will be legally built around it, which will protect the US and its allies from competition from China, and will also prevent the acquisition of chips by Russia and other geopolitical opponents of Washington. Thus, this law not only takes the confrontation between the US and China to a new level, but potentially aims to damage global semiconductor production chains.
What consequences for Russia and the world can the technological confrontation between the USA and China lead to? Can China replace Western countries in the future as a supplier of microchips and equipment for their production? What steps should Russia take in order to foster local semiconductor production? Participants of the expert discussion will answer these and other questions.
Speakers:
• Stanislav Tkachenko, Valdai Club expert, DSc (Economics), Professor, St Petersburg State University (co-author of the Paper)
• Andrey Terekhov, Head of the Department of System Programming, Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics, St. Petersburg State University; President of the Lanit-Tercom IT company (co-author of the Paper)
• Ruslan Yunusov, Co-Founder, Russian Quantum Center
• Nelson Wong, Vice President of the Shanghai Center for Strategic and International Studies
Moderator:
• Ivan Timofeev, Programme Director, Valdai Discussion Club.
Working languages: Russian, English.
Information for the media: IInformation for the media: In order to get accredited for the event, please fill out the form on our web site. If you have any questions about the event, please call +79269307763
A link to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the Twitter, Telegram and Zen.
