Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit
Corporate brand
UnclaimedChinese state-backed semiconductor company established to develop and manufacture DRAM memory chips.
Last updated October 9, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd., commonly abbreviated as JHICC, is a Chinese semiconductor company headquartered in Jinjiang, Fujian. It was established in February 2016 as part of China’s effort to develop domestic capabilities in memory-chip design and manufacturing. The company’s principal focus has been dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, a semiconductor category used in personal computers, servers, mobile devices, and other electronic systems. JHICC emerged within the broader industrial policy framework associated with Made in China 2025 and China’s stated objective of reducing dependence on overseas semiconductor suppliers. Its planned activities were aimed particularly at supplying Chinese electronics and mobile-device manufacturers. The company was expected to work with Taiwan-based United Microelectronics Corporation on DRAM development and manufacturing, while building a large production complex in Jinjiang. Public reporting described the project as one of China’s most significant state-supported attempts to establish a domestic DRAM industry, alongside initiatives involving ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies. The company’s development was disrupted by a dispute involving Micron Technology, UMC, and alleged misappropriation of semiconductor trade secrets. Micron accused former employees and UMC personnel of taking confidential information related to its DRAM technology and transferring it to JHICC. In October 2018, the United States Department of Commerce added JHICC to the Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List. The designation restricted the company’s access to items, software, and technology subject to U.S. export controls, substantially limiting its ability to obtain equipment and technical inputs from American suppliers. The sanctions also affected JHICC’s relationship with UMC. UMC suspended its cooperation with the company after the U.S. measures, and reporting indicated that many of the Taiwanese engineers assigned to the project returned to Taiwan. Media reports subsequently stated that JHICC had stopped production or that its manufacturing plans had been severely curtailed during 2019. The available public record does not clearly establish the company’s current production volume, commercial product range, or operating status. The legal dispute continued in several jurisdictions. A Chinese court granted Micron-related restrictions affecting certain products in China after JHICC brought a countersuit. Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted JHICC and UMC in 2018 over alleged theft of Micron trade secrets. JHICC pleaded not guilty in January 2019. UMC later pleaded guilty in 2020 to receiving and possessing a stolen trade secret and agreed to pay a fine while cooperating with U.S. authorities. In February 2024, however, a U.S. district judge acquitted JHICC in a non-jury proceeding, finding that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to support the charge against the company. JHICC therefore occupies an important but unsettled position in China’s semiconductor history. It represents the country’s attempt to create a domestically controlled DRAM supply chain, but its intended expansion was constrained by export controls, the breakdown of its technology partnership, and litigation over intellectual property. Because reliable public information about subsequent manufacturing activity is limited, the company’s present commercial status should be treated as unclear rather than assumed to be either fully active or defunct.
History
Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit was founded in February 2016 in Jinjiang, Fujian, as a state-backed project intended to strengthen China’s domestic semiconductor-memory capabilities. Its creation formed part of a national industrial strategy seeking greater self-sufficiency in integrated circuits and reduced reliance on suppliers from the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, and other major semiconductor markets. The company’s main technical objective was the development and production of DRAM. The project was planned as a major manufacturing undertaking. JHICC was expected to establish a large fabrication facility in Jinjiang and to develop DRAM products for applications including servers and mobile devices. It was also expected to cooperate with Taiwan-based United Microelectronics Corporation, which supplied technical and engineering support. Together with ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies, JHICC was viewed as part of a group of Chinese companies intended to build a domestic memory-chip ecosystem. The company’s plans became entangled in a dispute with Micron Technology, one of the world’s leading memory manufacturers. Micron alleged that former employees and UMC personnel had taken confidential information concerning its DRAM designs and that the information was transferred to JHICC. JHICC and UMC denied the allegations. The dispute produced litigation in both China and the United States. In China, JHICC brought a countersuit that resulted in a court order restricting some Micron products in the Chinese market. In October 2018, the United States placed JHICC on the Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List. The measure restricted the company’s ability to receive U.S.-origin goods, software, and technology subject to export controls. The U.S. government described the company as a national-security concern and connected the action to allegations involving Micron’s intellectual property. Chinese authorities criticized the measure as protectionist and inconsistent with international trade principles. The export restrictions undermined JHICC’s cooperation with UMC. UMC suspended the partnership, and reports indicated that a substantial number of engineers assigned to the Fujian project returned to Taiwan. Although JHICC had been expected to reach large-scale production, media reports indicated that production ceased or was severely interrupted in 2019. Publicly available information does not provide a dependable picture of the company’s later output, equipment base, commercial customers, or continuing manufacturing operations. The U.S. Department of Justice announced an indictment against JHICC and UMC in November 2018, based on a case initially filed earlier that year. JHICC pleaded not guilty in January 2019. UMC subsequently resolved its own part of the case in October 2020 by pleading guilty to receiving and possessing a stolen trade secret, paying a US$60 million fine, and agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors. The resolution concerned UMC and did not constitute a conviction of JHICC. On February 27, 2024, a U.S. district judge acquitted JHICC after a non-jury proceeding. The court found that the prosecution had not presented enough evidence to sustain the charge against the company. The acquittal closed a major phase of the U.S. criminal proceedings, but it did not resolve the broader commercial and geopolitical consequences of the export restrictions or establish whether JHICC had returned to meaningful DRAM production. JHICC remains historically significant as an early state-backed Chinese attempt to establish a domestic DRAM manufacturer. Its trajectory illustrates the technical, financial, legal, and geopolitical obstacles facing semiconductor projects that depend on foreign equipment, software, process knowledge, and international partnerships. Its current status is unclear because detailed, current information about operations is not readily available in the cited public sources.
- 2024
Fujian Jinhua acquitted in U.S. proceeding
[1]A U.S. district judge acquitted JHICC after finding that prosecutors had not presented sufficient evidence to support the charge.
- 2020
UMC resolves related criminal case
[1]UMC pleaded guilty to receiving and possessing a stolen trade secret and agreed to pay a US$60 million fine.
- 2019
Reported production disruption
[1]After the export restrictions and the suspension of UMC cooperation, media reports indicated that JHICC’s production was halted or substantially disrupted.
- 2018
Added to the U.S. Entity List
[1]The United States imposed export restrictions that limited JHICC’s access to controlled American goods, software, and technology.
- 2018
U.S. trade-secret indictment
[1]The U.S. Department of Justice indicted JHICC and UMC over alleged theft and transfer of Micron trade secrets.
- 2016
Company founded in Fujian
[1]Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit was established in Jinjiang as a state-backed company focused on domestic DRAM development and manufacturing.
Products and positioning
State-backed Chinese DRAM manufacturer focused on domestic semiconductor self-sufficiency.
Semiconductor memory
DRAM chips
Dynamic random-access memory was JHICC’s central planned product category. The company’s stated industrial purpose was to develop and manufacture DRAM for use in systems such as servers, mobile devices, computers, and other electronics. The available sources describe the intended product direction but do not establish a mature, sustained commercial product portfolio or current production volume.
Controversies
2018
Micron trade-secret dispute
Micron Technology accused UMC personnel and former Micron employees of misappropriating DRAM-related trade secrets and transferring them to Fujian Jinhua. The allegations led to litigation, U.S. criminal charges, and export restrictions against JHICC.
2018
U.S. export-control designation
The U.S. government placed JHICC on the Entity List, citing national-security concerns connected to the alleged intellectual-property conduct and restricting access to controlled U.S. technology.
Brand decisions
2018
Continue operations after U.S. export restrictionsStrategyBackground
The United States added JHICC to the Entity List, limiting access to controlled American technology and supplies.
Action taken
JHICC pleaded not guilty to the related U.S. criminal allegations and continued contesting the accusations through legal proceedings.
Aftermath
UMC suspended cooperation, engineering support was reduced, and later reports described a major interruption or cessation of production.
2016
Pursue a domestic DRAM manufacturing capabilityStrategyBackground
China sought to reduce dependence on foreign semiconductor suppliers and develop a domestic memory industry.
Action taken
JHICC was established in Jinjiang with a mandate centered on DRAM research, development, and manufacturing.
Aftermath
The project became one of China’s prominent state-backed memory initiatives, but its planned expansion was later affected by export controls and the breakdown of its UMC partnership.
Sources3 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/fujian-jinhua-integrated-circuit · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled