'I think this is a 10-year gap' – Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger says China is majorly behind in chip manufacturing thanks to export restrictions and looks to stay that way for the foreseeable future

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger sat down for a conversation with the founder of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab at the 2024 WEF annual meeting in Switzerland on Wednesday, in a wide-ranging discussion that included some of Intel's manufacturing plans for the future.

However, it was his comments on China in regards to the current export restrictions that drew much of the interest, as the Intel chief thinks that the current export policies of several countries in combination with a lack of interconnection within the industry has kept China behind by 10 years, and that gap looks set to continue. 

«The export policies that have been put in place...sort of puts a floor in the 10-7nm range...we are racing to go below 2nm, then 1.5nm» said the Intel CEO. «It's not like China is not going to keep innovating, but this is a highly interconnected industry, the staging of Trumpf, the mirrors of Zeiss, the equipment assembly of ASML, the chemicals and resist in Japan, the mask making of Intel.»

«All of those together, I think this is a 10-year gap, and I think it is a sustainable 10-year gap with the export policies that have been put in place.»

The Biden administration in particular has hit Chinese chip-manufacturing and development hard with a raft of export restrictions since 2022 that ban the export of not only the most cutting edge chips, but also chip design software, manufacturing equipment and US-built components.  

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More than that, the prohibitions also cover the chip exports of any company worldwide that uses US semiconductor technology, which has left China out in the cold when it comes to keeping up with the pace of chip development and manufacturing.

However, while these restrictions certainly seem to have been effective overall, it hasn't stopped attempts to