On September 21, 2024, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed to promulgate the national semiconductor industry development strategy by 2030.

A book ‘Chien truong ban dan – Canh tranh chien luoc va tu chu doi moi sang tao cua Trung Quoc the ky 21’ (tentatively translated as Semiconductor Battlefield: China's Strategic Competition and Innovation Autonomy in the 21st Century) by Pham Sy Thanh and Nguyen Tue Anh was published at the same time, which has caught attention from the public.

I note that the words ‘strategic competition’ appear in the title of the book. Which competition do you think is the most strategic in the race?

Many people believe that the government just needs to make big investment and spend a lot of money to be able to develop technologies, while others may think that the semiconductor race is for large corporations only.

However, our book shows a policy analysis framework consisting of four major pillars, including political commitments; investment and financial support; technology promotion solutions; and human resources development. We believe that the countries which can design a comprehensive strategy with all four pillars will have high competitiveness on the battlefield.

Why do you say the future of the US will depend on chips? What are the advantages the US has in the race?

Semiconductors are materials used in microchip manufacturing. Microchips are used in a series of technologies. If the US doesn’t have the most advanced and most powerful chips, its capability of processing data and campaigns such as renewable energy development, AI(artificial intelligence) development, universal economic development and national defence will be restricted.

The semiconductor sector was born in the US, starting from World War II. The US innovations and breakthroughs that contributed to the current semiconductor landscape originated in the US from the need for national security during the World War and the Cold War.

After the semiconductor industry took off, and developed by private investors and used for civil use, the US government shifted its concentration on other issues.

However, the fact that the country pioneering in technology development like the US cannot manufacture the most advanced chips (below 5nm) domestically, and the national security consequences of not having the most advanced technology led to the government and both Republicans and Democrats to approve the Chips and Science Act.

The US advantage lies in this long history of development. The formation of a national innovation ecosystem with the participation of the government, independent innovation agencies, the private sector, universities, and even potential micro-scale factors in a system of acts that stimulate innovation can help create a solid network to promote technological innovation.

Which country, the US or China, do you think will be the ‘empire’ in the semiconductor battlefield?

The semiconductor map is being redrawn. Since 2023, a lot of countries, not only the US and China, have released strategies to develop their semiconductor industry.

Each country wants to grasp a part of the semiconductor chain. For example, the US focuses on design and IP mastering, and the most advanced chip manufacturing, while China targets the localization of the entire supply chain.

In the book, we started with the question if the US will be inferior to China, which is making big progress recently, as international media have warned. 

Statistics show that the US is mastering designing, the segment which brings highest value in the semiconductor and essential IP chain. The US has also teamed up with partners in Chip 4 Alliance (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan (China) to ensure its supply chain, while it has applied measures to restrict exports. Meanwhile, China is facing many bottlenecks when approaching the highest level of technology.

What are the opportunities and challenges for Vietnam in the semiconductor race? What does Vietnam need to do to join the global semiconductor chain?

In the new era, the era of high data processing and analysis capability, if it is not the current supply chain, we can think of the supply chain of the future.

For example, a fab factory will be built in Arizona in the US this year within five years. By that time, it will need at least 5,000 engineers.

With the construction of a series of fabs in many places, the demand for qualified and well-trained engineers is very high.

Tinh Le