In 2013, China was the largest maker of electronics, and the country imported the vast majority of chips required for manufacturing smartphones and PCs, as it had no microelectronics production capabilities of its own. Driven by concerns surrounding dependence on foreign technology, China's State Council launched what it called the 'Made in China 2025' initiative.

The plan aspired to turn China from a global factory into something more lucrative, and included a 70% self-sufficiency in semiconductors by 2025. Over a decade and hundreds of billions in spending later, China has made remarkable progress. Yet, it is still decades away from matching the capabilities of the global semiconductor industry.