Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

88: Chapter 88 The Empire’s Counterattack: A Glimmer of Hope in DespairThe Activation of the State Machine (4:00 PM - 7:00 PM)

Just as those within Spark were anxiously dealing with the situation, the response at the national level unfolded with astonishing speed and intensity.

At 4:00 PM, the heads of several ministries, including the MIIT, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the SASAC, were urgently convened. The atmosphere in the meeting room was solemn, and the large screen displayed a detailed analysis report on the sanctions imposed on Spark.

At 6:00 PM, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the lead at a regular press conference to make a strong statement: ”The US side, based on trumped-up charges, has abused national power to unreasonably suppress the Chinese high-tech enterprise Spark Technology. This is a typical act of technological bullying and economic coercion, which seriously violates market economy principles and international economic and trade rules. China expresses its strong indignation and firm opposition to this. We urge the US side to immediately correct its wrong practices and stop politicizing and weaponizing economic, trade, and technological issues. China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.”

An hour later, the official website of the MIIT released a more specific announcement: ”Notice on the Launch of the ’Emergency Action Plan for Semiconductor Industry Autonomy’.” The announcement declared that the state would establish a special fund for semiconductor industry autonomy with a total scale of 300 billion rmb, to be used for supporting emergency technological breakthroughs and capacity building across the entire industrial chain, including chip design tools, manufacturing equipment, and key materials.

At the same time, Xu Jianguo, the director of the SASAC, personally called Su Chen to convey the clear instructions and specific support from the highest levels:

“Comrade Su Chen, the central government attaches great importance to your situation. The highest leadership has already issued an instruction: Mobilize the strength of the entire nation to support Spark Technology’s autonomous breakthrough for the Spark chip.”

“First, the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund’s commitment to increase its stake in Spark by 30 billion remains unchanged. Furthermore, an additional 20 billion in policy-based low-interest loans can be provided, specifically to deal with this crisis.”

“Second, we have urgently coordinated with major domestic foundry enterprises such as SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor, requiring them to prioritize Spark’s chip manufacturing needs at all costs. The state level will assist in assessing and responding to relevant compliance risks.”

“Third, led by the Ministry of Science and Technology, top research institutes such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and the Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences will be organized to form a ’De-Americanized Chip Technology Breakthrough Consortium’ with Spark. Talents, equipment, and data will be fully shared with only one goal: to open up an autonomous and controllable chip manufacturing chain as soon as possible.”

At the end of the call, Director Xu’s voice was heavy yet full of expectation: “President Su, Spark is now not just a company, but the vanguard of this technological breakthrough battle. Whatever you need, as long as the state has it and it complies with regulations, we will provide full support. The state has only one requirement: you must succeed.”

Su Chen held the phone and took a deep breath: “Understood. Please tell the central government that all employees of Spark will do their utmost to live up to the nation’s heavy trust. Spark is willing to be the vanguard.”

The Perseverance of the Shareholder Alliance (7:00 PM - 8:30 PM)

While the outside world speculated whether international capital would retreat one after another, Spark’s strategic allies showed amazing composure.

At exactly 8:00 PM, Temasek Holdings released a brief official statement: