China’s top chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation Last year, despite a shortage of chips worldwide and strong demand for their products, the company reported record revenues and increased profits.

SMIC’s 2021 revenues of $5.44 Billion were up 39% over the previous year, which is the highest growth rate since 2010. The profit came in at $1.7billion, an increase of 138% from 2010.

This record-breaking performance was achieved despite SMIC being put on a U.S. trade blacklist called the Entity List in 2020.

SMIC released a statement saying that the Company was able to take advantage of the global shortage in chips as well as the demand for indigenous and local manufacturing. However, restrictions from the “Entity List” made it difficult for the Company to develop.

SMIC China’s largest findry is one that produces chips designed by other companies. This company is a rival to Taiwan’s. TSMCSouth Korea’s Samsung But SMIC’s technology is several generations behind.

In the recent years, geopolitical tensions among China and the U.S. has escalated. This has led to a greater battle to control key technologies. One of these areas is Semiconductors. China is significantly behind the U.S. in the chip industrySMIC, however, is central to their ambitions to improve self-sufficiency within the sector and to wean themselves off foreign technology.

SMIC continues to invest and said it will spend $5Billion to start three plants in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen in the south of China.

According to the company, it plans on increasing its production capacity by 2022 more than in 2021.