BEIJING--Chinese government officials and private companies joined hands on Monday to promote a homegrown computer chip in their push for a domestic information technology industry that is less reliant on foreign companies.
Unveiled in September, the "Dragon" central processing unit boasts speeds between 200MHz and 260MHz, roughly equivalent to models that global chip leader Intel first marketed between 1995 and 1997.
The Chinese chip is likely to be used in applications requiring less speed than the fastest chips now available.
Officials from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Ministry of Information Industry, electronics giant Haier Group, Linux developers Red Flag Software and server provider Dawning Corp all pledged support for the chip at a news conference.
Li Guo Jie, director of the Institute of Computing Technology under CAS, said he expected the chip to meet the needs of a niche market despite its limitations.
"People won't buy the chip just because it's home-made," he told a news conference. "It must be competitive and fit market needs."
He said the chip would soon reside in personal computers, mobile phones and televisions, with a target production of 1 million units in 2003.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences said about 10,000 chips had already been produced this year.
Technology analysts have said the domestic CPU is supposed to reduce China's dependence on Intel and other chipmakers such as Advanced Micro Devices for both financial and security reasons.
China wants to install its own chips in sensitive military devices to retain better control, they say.
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