US-based semiconductor firm Micron Photo: VCG

Senior executives from US chipmaker Micron Technology recently met with officials from Northwest China's Shaanxi Province and vowed to further enhance their investment in the Chinese market. It comes after the firm reached a legal settlement with chip producer Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co.

Chen Chunjiang, vice governor of Shaanxi, along with other government officials met with the Micron executives including CFO Mark Murphy, Micron said on Monday, adding that the company will keep investing in China, and will assist with industrial upgrading. 

Chen expressed appreciation for Micron's investment and development in Shaanxi, and exchanged views on China's semiconductor market and Micron's local operation. Ma Xianping, an official from Xi'an Hi-tech Industries Development Zone, also expressed enthusiasm for Micron's development strategy in China. 

The US-based semiconductor producer announced in June last year that it would invest 4.3 billion yuan in its packaging and testing plant in Xi'an, including purchasing a local company and building new factories, in order to meet demand from local clients, according to Micron's social media account. 

Micron in December 2023 reached a global settlement agreement with Fujian Jinhua. It had taken legal action in 2017 against Fujian Jinhua and another Taiwan-based firm, United Microelectronics Corp, accusing the two of stealing the company's memory chip trade secrets.

On February 27, 2024, a US District Judge in San Francisco found Fujian Jinhua not guilty following a non-jury trial, clearing the Chinese company of economic espionage and other criminal charges. Fujian Jinhua had been blacklisted by the US Commerce Department for more than five years.

China's Government Work Report of 2024 emphasized that state-owned enterprises, private businesses, and foreign-funded companies all play an important role in China's modernization drive, and vowed to further attract foreign investment. 

Foreign investors are now accelerating expansion in the Chinese market. Disney announced on Monday it will build a new themed attraction at the Shanghai Disney Resort and the preparations have started. Apple also announced it will open a flagship store in Shanghai with investment exceeding 83.4 million yuan ($11.61 million). It will be the second-largest apple store worldwide, after the one on Fifth Avenue in New York.

Global Times