CHINA is looking for billions of dollars in funds to propel its domestic ambitions in chips to cut a heavy reliance on imports and has invited overseas investors to help it get there.

The country’s industry ministry said Wednesday that it welcomed foreign enterprises to invest in its top State-backed semiconductor fund.

China is looking to accelerate plans to develop its semiconductor market amid a fierce trade stand-off with the United States and a recent ban on U.S. sales, including of American chips, to ZTE Corp.

China’s National Integrated Circuit Investment Fund is now putting together a second fund to support the sector, a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) official said.

“We welcome foreign enterprises to participate,” MIIT spokesman Chen Yin said at a press conference in Beijing.

The fund, which raised about US$22 billion previously, has been a target for U.S. politicians concerned that Chinese firms could challenge U.S. chip giants like Qualcomm Corp. for whom China is a key market.

The semiconductor fund has previously backed major local projects including a US$24 billion Tsinghua Unigroup memory chip plant that is under construction in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

China says its supportive investment policies are designed to reduce China’s reliance on foreign semiconductors, which are one of the country’s top imported products by value. (SD-Agencies)