China’s Subsidies for Listed Companies Total $33 Billion, Prioritizing Defense and Semiconductor Sectors

An employee makes chips at a Jiejie Semiconductor Company factory in Nantong, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on March 17, 2021.STR/AFP via Getty Images

China spent a whopping $33 billion on industry subsidies to listed companies in 2020. Among them, subsidies to semiconductor and defense enterprises increased significantly.

According to Japan’s Nikkei Asia, China’s subsidy spending was at a record high last year, and showed a 14 percent increase from 2019.