Native name | 福建省晋华集成电路有限公司 |
|---|---|
| Company type | State-owned |
| Industry | Semiconductors |
| Founded | February 2016 |
| Headquarters | Fujian, China |
| Products | DRAM and related products |
| Website | www |
Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. Ltd., orJHICC, is a Chinesestate-ownedDRAMmanufacturer based inFujian, China. It is part of theMade in China 2025 program,[1] a component of China's strategy to gain self-sufficiency in thesemiconductor industry, and is a national leader inChina's technology industry.[2]
Fujian Jinhua is a Chinese state-owned company, founded in February 2016, with an investment of US$5.6 billion from the Chinese national government andFujian provincial government.[3] Its management, as reported byChina Daily, said that its goal is to "fill the gap in the domestic market by producing integrated circuit products for mobile phone manufacturers in the country."[4] It was part of the Chinese government's plan to reach 70% self-sufficiency in semiconductors by the year 2025,[3] and not be reliant on countries likeSouth Korea.[4][better source needed]
Fujian Jinhua was to concentrate onDRAM development, along withChangXin Memory Technologies, previously known as Innotron.[3] Fujian Jinhua planned to develop its production capacity for DRAM chips in servers, in cooperation with Taiwan-basedUnited Microelectronics Corporation (UMC).[3] Fujian Jinhua's production facility is inJinjiang, Fujian.[4] It was expected to be China's largest single integrated circuit manufacturing facility and have its first phase completed in September 2018. Fujian Jinhua planned to produce products worth $6 billion each year.[4][better source needed]
Along with other state-backed chip companies likeYangtze Memory Technologies Co. and Changxin, Fujian Jinhua was seen as crucial for China's self-sufficiency in the semiconductor industry.[5]
In October 2018, the U.S. placed Fujian Jinhua on theBureau of Industry and Security'sEntity List, meaning that it cannot buy goods with components, software, or technology from American firms.[2] The move took place in the midst of theU.S.-China Trade War. TheTrump administration alleged that Fujian Jinhua could flood the market with cheap chips and bankrupt American firms that supply the U.S. military, and was therefore a national security threat.[1] China asserted that the move violatedWorld Trade Organization rules on trade and was aimed at protecting a U.S. monopoly.[2]
Micron Technology, a U.S. memory chip maker, accused Fujian Jinhua andUMC of stealing chip designs.[1] It accused UMC of hiring Micron employees, stealing its trade secrets, and transferring them to Fujian Jinhua.[6] Fujian Jinhua countersued in China, successfully convincing a Chinese court to ban some of Micron's chips in China.[1]
In November 2018, the U.S.Department of Justice announced an indictment against Fujian Jinhua and Taiwanese companyUMC, alleging that they conspired to steal intellectual property fromMicron.[2] The indictment was originally filed in September 2018.[2] The U.S. government sees the case of Fujian Jinhua as part of a broader pattern of IP theft. The firm plead not guilty in January 2019.[2] After U.S. sanctions, UMC said it suspended its partnership with Jinhua, and by early 2019, 200 of 300 UMC engineers sent to Fujian Jinhua returned to Taiwan.[5] Media reports suggested that Fujian Jinhua ceased production in March 2019.[5]
In October 2020, UMC pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and possessing a stolen trade-secret, and agreed to pay a US$60 million fine, in exchange for cooperating with the DOJ.[7]
On February 27, 2024, US District JudgeMaxine M. Chesney in San Francisco acquitted Fujian Jinhua of the charge in a non-jury verdict, judging that the prosecutor failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the charge.[8][9][10]