Component Core of High-Tech Industries of the Digital Economy

Semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs), or chips, are the component core of the digital economy. The supply of chips defines the development of such high-tech industries as computer technology, communications and telecommunications, all types of transport, mechanical engineering, defense industry, medical, government and trade services, etc. The leading economic centers of the world (United States, European Union, China) strive to create closed-loop chains (ecosystems) of chip production in order to reduce the risks of disruptions in these chains in the event of epidemiological or political global crises. A stable balance between the supply and demand of chips requires that national programs for development of chip production are coordinated with development plans of chip consumer industries. Solving the problem of “chip sovereignty” requires enormous investments not only in construction of new factories, but also in raising the level of research and education in this field.