China has made technology advances a major plank of its 14th five-year plan, with President Xi Jinping pledging $1.4 trillion over six years to secure a lead in sectors like chips, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. South Korean companies like Samsung and SK Hynix Inc. are committing $450 billion over a decade on chip research and expansion, while TSMC alone has earmarked $100 billion over the next three years.

“$50 billion is a great start but this is an expensive industry with heavy levels of subsidies being proposed across multiple geographies,” said Anne Hoecker, a partner at Bain & Company. The investment “provides more assurance for semi manufacturers to make large, multi-year investments.”