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Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
US chip-gear maker sued in China over alleged trade secret theft
[TAIPEI] Top US chip-equipment supplier Applied Materials was sued by a rival in China over what that company characterised as trade secret theft, a further escalation in the technology war between the world's two largest economies. Beijing E-Town Semiconductor Technology filed a lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court against Applied Materials, according to a company statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The Chinese chip-gear maker alleged that the Santa Clara, California-based company illegally obtained, used and revealed its core technologies related to the application of plasma source in treating the surface of wafers, the statement said. The court has filed the case but has not begun a trial, E-Town added. Applied Materials earlier hired two employees from E-Town's fully owned US subsidiary, Mattson, and they were privy to the Beijing company's proprietary plasma technologies, the filing said. Applied Materials filed a patent application crediting the duo as inventors with the National Intellectual Property Administration in China after the two joined the Santa Clara company, the Beijing firm said, alleging that the content revealed trade secrets co-owned by E-Town and Mattson. 'The patent application violated the rules of China's Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and it infringes on trade secrets, and has caused significant damage to the plaintiff's intellectual property and economic interests,' E-Town said in the filing, adding that Applied Materials is also suspected of marketing and selling the technologies involved in the case to Chinese customers. E-Town is asking the court to demand that Applied Materials stop using its trade secrets and destroy related materials. It's also seeking about 100 million yuan (S$18 million) in recompense for damage. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court did not answer multiple calls outside of regular hours. Applied Materials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chip-gear technology is a focal point in the prolonged technology war between the US and China. To date, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment space is still dominated by the US, the Netherlands and Japan. A years-long US-led campaign has prevented Chinese companies from securing Dutch supplier ASML Holding's state-of-the-art extreme ultraviolet lithography systems, which are required to make the most cutting-edge chips for developing artificial intelligence algorithms. ASML's technologies also do not work at a chipmaking plant without support from US equipment suppliers, including Applied Materials and Lam Research. While E-Town's move might be seen as part of China's efforts to retaliate against the US, the two companies have their own existing dispute. In 2022, Applied Materials sued Mattson over alleged corporate espionage. Mattson denied any wrongdoing at the time. BLOOMBERG
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
US Chip-Gear Maker Sued in China Over Alleged Trade Secret Theft
Top US chip-equipment supplier Applied Materials Inc. was sued by a rival in China over what that company characterized as trade secret theft, a further escalation in the technology war between the world's two largest economies. Beijing E-Town Semiconductor Technology Co. filed a lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court against Applied Materials, according to a company statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The Chinese chip-gear maker alleged that the Santa Clara, California-based company illegally obtained, used and revealed its core technologies related to the application of plasma source in treating the surface of wafers, the statement said. The court has filed the case but has not begun a trial, E-Town added. Applied Materials earlier hired two employees from E-Town's fully owned US subsidiary, Mattson, and they were privy to the Beijing company's proprietary plasma technologies, the filing said. Applied Materials filed a patent application crediting the duo as inventors with the National Intellectual Property Administration in China after the two joined the Santa Clara company, the Beijing firm said, alleging that the content revealed trade secrets co-owned by E-Town and Mattson. 'The patent application violated the rules of China's Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and it infringes on trade secrets, and has caused significant damage to the plaintiff's intellectual property and economic interests,' E-Town said in the filing, adding that Applied Materials is also suspected of marketing and selling the technologies involved in the case to Chinese customers. E-Town is asking the court to demand that Applied Materials stop using its trade secrets and destroy related materials. It's also seeking about 100 million yuan in recompense for damage. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court didn't answer multiple calls outside of regular hours. Applied Materials didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Chip-gear technology is a focal point in the prolonged technology war between the US and China. To date, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment space is still dominated by the US, the Netherlands and Japan. A yearslong US-led campaign has prevented Chinese companies from securing Dutch supplier ASML Holding NV's state-of-the-art extreme ultraviolet lithography systems, which are required to make the most cutting-edge chips for developing artificial intelligence algorithms. ASML's technologies also don't work at a chipmaking plant without support from US equipment suppliers, including Applied Materials and Lam Research Corp. While E-Town's move might be seen as part of China's efforts to retaliate against the US, the two companies have their own existing dispute. In 2022, Applied Materials sued Mattson over alleged corporate espionage. Mattson denied any wrongdoing at the time. With assistance from Peter Blumberg and Brody Ford.
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Robust policy support and export growth set to drive China market in H2
China's light vehicle (LV) market maintained strong momentum in June 2025, with sales increasing by 11% YoY to approximately 2.3 million units. The growth was primarily fueled by robust demand for PVs, which rose by 12% YoY to 2.1 million units, accounting for 90% of total LV sales. Meanwhile, LCV sales saw a modest 2% YoY increase. On a YTD basis, LV sales from January to June grew by 11% compared to the same period in 2024, supported by the national subsidy program encouraging consumers to replace older vehicles. The seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate (SAAR) for June stood at 30.4 million units, reflecting a 9% decline from May's figure but remaining at a historically high level. In H1 2025, the Chinese auto industry showed a trend of "total growth and individual differentiation", driven by policies and consumption upgrades, with accelerated iteration of core technologies and continuous improvement of industry management. The landscape of the country's LV market is becoming increasingly defined: BYD and SAIC formed a two-horse race among traditional automakers, while the new forces camp experienced a dramatic reshuffle. The industry is shifting from price wars to value competition, and new energy and globalization have become the core development directions. Recently, the regulatory authorities have taken intensive measures to address the involution problem in the industry: the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) has issued a number of proposals to standardize data release and intelligent driving publicity, and to stop disorderly competition behaviors such as weekly sales lists. The newly revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law strengthens supervision of price wars, false propaganda and other behaviors. In terms of reshaping the relationship of the industrial chain, automakers responded to policy requirements and unified the payment period for parts suppliers to within 60 days, while some companies shortened the rebate period, which to a certain extent alleviated the financial pressure of small and medium-sized enterprises and promoted the healthy development of the industrial ecology. In June, China's LV production reached 2.5 million units, marking an 11% YoY increase, and a modest 5% MoM rise. By model type, PVs—which accounted for 90% of the total LV output—reached 2.4 million units, reflecting a robust 12% YoY expansion. This underscores sustained consumer demand and market vitality. Meanwhile, CV production recorded 257k units, indicating a slight 0.4% YoY decline. Chinese OEMs produced a total of 1.8 million units during the month, achieving a YoY increase of 15%. At the same time, JV OEMs also exhibited an upward trend with growth of 1%. China's LV output has been growing steadily, driven by both the domestic and overseas markets. In addition, China's LV exports reached 554k units in June, marking a 20.5% YoY increase and a 7.1% MoM rise. The growth was primarily driven by PVs, which accounted for 501k units—a sharp 23.3% YoY surge. In contrast, CV exports saw a slight 0.5% YoY decline, totaling 53k units. For H1 2025, China's total auto exports reached 2.9 million units, up by 9.5% YoY, reinforcing the country's position as a leading global auto exporter. In terms of competition, Chery Group and BYD Auto are both strong exporters. Chery ranks first with cumulative exports of 544k units in the first half of the year. With its dual-line product layout of traditional fuel plus new energy and a wide network of export channels, it has established brand stability in multiple emerging markets. BYD relies on its strong new energy technology platform and vertically integrated supply system in order to expand rapidly. Its exports in June reached 86k units and its total volumes for the first six months as a whole stood at 443k units, which was only 101k units behind Chery, reflecting its strong momentum for catching up. In the first half of 2025, the Chinese auto market showed a diversified development trend in a complex economic environment and fierce market competition. For the second half of the year, the market still faces many uncertainties but also contains new opportunities. Since the old-for-new policy was launched in July 2024, the base number in the second half of this year will be relatively high. The market will also show a mild recovery trend, with a slight increase in overall production and sales, but its structure will be more differentiated. Some brands may be eliminated at an accelerated pace. Specifically, it is expected that the stimulus replacement demand will be released in Q4. The rush to buy before the scrapping and renewal policy ends, and the expectation of policy decline during the quarter may trigger the "last train effect", driving sales to surge in the short term. In addition, the popularization of intelligence is driving the demand for replacement. BYD, Huawei and others have promoted the Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) functions by extending it to cheaper models to stimulate the willingness of young consumers to change cars. The decline in technology costs, together with the large-scale mass production of self-developed chips and domain control systems, reduces the cost of intelligent configuration and enhances the competitiveness of vehicle models. Furthermore, the differentiation of enterprises is accelerating, and leading independent brands have consolidated their market shares with the advantages of technology as well as expanding overseas. As such, joint venture brands and slow-transforming car companies are under pressure. With continued growth in exports, production is set to rise steadily alongside. This article was first published on GlobalData's dedicated research platform, the . "Robust policy support and export growth set to drive China market in H2" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
