China announced new import tax cuts on semiconductors on Monday to buff up its domestic sector amid a global shortage of chips caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From July 2020 to the end of 2030, chipmakers producing high-end 65 nanometer technology or smaller chips are exempt from paying import taxes on raw materials and machinery that cannot be produced, China's finance ministry along with the country's customs authority and tax administrator said in a notice.

Enterprises undertaking major integrated circuit projects are offered cuts on value-added tax when they import new equipment, the notice said.

China has been dealing with a bottleneck in technology development amid an ongoing tech rivalry with the United States.

The U.S. has blacklisted Chinese tech giant Huawei and chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) from trading with their U.S. suppliers.

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(Cover via CFP)