Chinese investment in Britain is under the microscope

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Chinese investment in Britain has been falling for a while, and that trend is unlikely to reverse. The government has yet to work out what replaces it

Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskOn July 20th Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, used the act to veto a deal for the first time. Beijing Infinite Vision Technology, a Chinese firm, was prohibited from licensing vision-sensing technology from the University of Manchester, on the basis that the intellectual property could be used in ways “which may present a national-security risk”.

Mr Kwarteng’s decision also suggests a tougher line on another, much more significant investment. The government is probing the acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab , Britain’s largest maker of semiconductors, on national-security grounds. The firm was bought in 2021, when the pandemic had brought it to the brink of closure, by Nexperia, a Dutch outfit itself owned by Wingtech, a Chinese firm. After much delay and flip-flopping, the government’s decision is due in early September.

The objections to the takeover are threefold. The first is that China, which is racing to build up its own semiconductor industry, should not have access to’s know-how. The chips made at Newport are the basic but essential kind that control the flow of electrical power; they are used in everything from phone chargers to cars to light switches. Newport’s forte is to produce a high volume of these chips with extremely low error rates; that is expertise worth having.

The second concern is supply-chain security. Critics point out that Wingtech is building a semiconductor fab in Shanghai; when that plant reaches capacity, the company might be inclined to shift production to China. Europe’s reliance on Russia for gas has highlighted the risks of depending on potential adversaries for inputs. “There are no plans to offshore production from Newport,” says Toni Versluijs, Nexperia’s general manager in Britain.

 

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Your grubby clients take money from anyone. Cease your hypocritical posturing.

Why isn't russian?

Translate this !

Chinese & Russian investment needs to always be under the microscope.

About bloody time!

Brits should force exit of all Chinese investments, return their money, you don’t need it

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