China intensifies efforts to poach semiconductor talent from Taiwan
The report claims that external restrictions on shipping advanced fab tools and other technology to the People's Republic of China are among the reasons why the mainland is attempting to grab those resources from the island nation.
China is targeting Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem to gain access to advanced chip manufacturing technology and skilled talent in a bid to bypass those international restrictions, according to Taiwan's National Security Bureau. In particular, China uses indirect methods — front companies, recruitment schemes, and covert channels — to poach engineers, obtain sensitive know-how, and even procure restricted fab tools, the NSB claims.
Taiwan is famously home to TSMC, the world's largest and most advanced contract chipmaker, which produces chips using 2nm-class fabrication technologies in high volume. By contrast, China-based SMIC can only mass produce chips on 7nm-class nodes, which are at least two generations behind TSMC's technologies.
The PRC cannot get sophisticated tools from Europe and the U.S. to develop its own advanced manufacturing processes and use them for high-volume production. As a result, the efforts of Chinese companies and even government-linked entities to steal technologies, talent, or restricted pieces of equipment will inevitably continue. Even as far back as the 2000s, international courts found SMIC guilty of illegally obtaining fabrication technologies from TSMC, so the Chinese foundry had to pay the Taiwanese company compensation.