Semiconductor Manufacturing International Company (SMI), one of the largest chip manufacturers in China, has signed a letter of intent with manufacturers from the United States on equipment purchase.

SMIC participated in the Signing Ceremony of Contracts and Agreements between U.S. and Chinese Companies and the U.S- China Hi-Tech Cooperation Forum held in San Francisco, California. The event, which was presented by the U.S. Information Technology Office and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, promotes the progression of U.S. – China trade relations.

The program of events included a signing ceremony between various US and Chinese Companies from the high-tech industry and remarks given by representatives of China's Ministry of Commerce, the City of San Francisco, the China Consulate of San Francisco, CCCME, USITO, and the State of California as well as the Hi-Tech Cooperation Forum. The forum also included presentations by the participating signing companies from the U.S. and China, including SMIC.

As part of the ceremony, SMIC signed six Letters of Intent outlining plans to purchase semiconductor manufacturing equipment from top American equipment vendors. The LOIs are with several vendors, including Applied Materials, Axcelis, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, Novellus and Varian Semiconductor, and total US$1.86 billion over three years.

SMIC is one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world and the largest and most advanced foundry in Mainland China, providing integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing service at 0.35m to 90nm and finer line technologies. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, SMIC operates three 200mm fabs in Shanghai and one in Tianjin, and one 300mm factory in Beijing — the first of its kind in Mainland China.