Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. has reportedly submitted an application to Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs to open a plant in China.

According to the New York Times, the chip manufacturer announced on Monday that it plans to invest in a $3 billion chip production plant in Nanjing.

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TSMC believes that this move will protect its technology from possible leaks or theft that may result from working with a local partner. It is also thought that this will give the company direct access to China's growing market, which is filled with various companies that primarily focus on churning out cheap and inexpensive smartphones.

This approach, according to the news outlet, is different from those taken by other chip makers. Several foreign companies have already set up partnerships with different groups in China.

For example, Qualcomm, known for the Snapdragon SoCs found in many flagship smartphones today, has reportedly partnered with Semiconductor Manufacturing International, TSMC's main Chinese rival.

Another foreign company, Intel, maker of the processors found in many laptops and PCs on the market, has also partnered with Tsinghua Unigroup, a Chinese company. It is reported that the company plans to spend up to $5.5 billion to equip its semiconductor production plant to be able to produce high-end memory chips.

China's partnership with foreign companies is a result of its efforts to bulk up the chip industry, reports the Wall Street Journal. Still, despite the partnerships, China's chip-making capabilities still lags behind other rivals in the industry.

Taiwanese chip makers are pushing to streghten the cross-strait industry, as they want to remain cost competitive against their Chinese rivals.

The Taiwanese government has restricted chip makers from manufacturing activities inside mainland China. This is because of a possible competition that may arise should companies in the mainland acquire chip-making knowledge, and want to benefit from it themselves.

TagsChina Mobile Industry, China Chip Manufacturing, Semiconductor Manufacturing International, Qualcommm Snapragon SoC, Taiwan, Intel, Tsingua Unigroup, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.