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The trading centre’s biggest shareholders are telecommunications equipment maker China Electronics Corp and local government fund Shenzhen Investment Holdings. Photo: Shutterstock

US-China tech war: Shenzhen set to become international sourcing hub for semiconductors, electronics with new trading exchange

  • The Electronic Components and Integrated Circuits International Trading Centre Co received its business licence on December 30
  • The trading entity is financed by 12 state-owned enterprises and private companies
Shenzhen
Shenzhen has doubled down on efforts to advance China’s hi-tech self-sufficiency drive by establishing an international sourcing platform for semiconductors and other electronics components amid US trade restrictions.
The Electronic Components and Integrated Circuits International Trading Centre Co, based in the city’s Qianhai economic zone, has registered at local market authorities and received its business licence on December 30, according to announcements made on Tuesday by several shareholders of the new entity.
This trading centre, with an initial capitalisation of 2.1 billion yuan (US$304 million), is financed by 12 state-owned enterprises and private companies, including its biggest shareholders telecommunications equipment maker China Electronics Corp (CEC) and local government fund Shenzhen Investment Holdings.

CEC and subsidiary China Electronics Information Service Co each invested 380 million yuan in the trading centre, securing a similar 17.8 per cent interest for each firm, while Shenzhen Investment injected 760 million yuan to obtain a 35.7 per cent stake. Other backers include electronics firm Shenzhen Huangqiang Industry Co, with a 3.5 per cent share, and chip firm Shannon Semi, with a 1.7 per cent stake.

Panoramic night view of southern tech hub Shenzhen’s central business district from Shenzhen Bay. Photo: Shutterstock
The development of this trading centre, which was initially announced by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce in January last year, is expected to engage various companies involved in the semiconductor and electronics industries around the world, including manufacturers and distributors.
Shenzhen, which President Xi Jinping hand-picked in 2020 to become a world-class innovation powerhouse and model for economic reform, will also serve as a major location for procurement, software development, branding and training, among a range of services, according to the NDRC’s plan.
The plan reflects Xi’s strong belief that Shenzhen would become an important engine of growth for the Greater Bay Area development zone, as the city pushes reforms in line with China’s tech self-sufficiency strategy.

The initiative comes amid tightened sanctions imposed by the US on China’s semiconductor industry, which has hurt Beijing’s ambitions for the country to achieve technological self-reliance.

China set to revamp chip strategy after US curbs on advanced tech

Last month, three dozen Chinese firms, including flash memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co, were added by the US government to its trade blacklist, citing concerns that Beijing was using commercial technologies to modernise its military.
That marked a significant escalation from previous targeted sanctions against individual mainland firms, such as Huawei Technologies Co and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC).
Shenzhen, known as China’s Silicon Valley, is home to many large Chinese technology companies, including video gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings, drone manufacturer DJI, and telecoms equipment makers Huawei and ZTE Corp. It is also the site for a major chip plant of SMIC and the largest manufacturing complex on the mainland for Taiwanese firm Foxconn Technology Group at the Longhua Science and Technology Park.
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