Chinese semiconductor manufacturer Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. has been found not guilty in an economic espionage trial that began in 2018, according to a report from Bloomberg. U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors alleged Fujian Jinhua conspired to steal industry secrets from American memory juggernaut Micron with Taiwanese fabbing company UMC. The ruling of not guilty is a remarkably cool spot in what is a hot trade war between the U.S. and China.
In 2018, during the Trump administration, the DOJ charged not only Fujian Jinhua, but also two engineers from Taiwanese foundry UMC, with economic espionage. Prosecutors claimed Fujian Jinhua conspired with the two engineers, who formerly worked at Micron, to acquire Micron’s memory chip design. The three defendants never appeared in court since neither China nor Taiwan have extradition treaties with the U.S., despite Taiwan being a key ally of the U.S.
UMC was charged separately in its own trial with economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. That case ended in 2020 with UMC taking a plea deal, which dropped the espionage charges and required the Taiwanese company to pay $60 million. UMC then assisted the DOJ in its case against Fujian Jinhua. However, that assistance was apparently not enough to win the Fujian Jinhua case; had the espionage charges against UMC stuck, they might have made a big difference.
