Taiwan Accuses China of 'Poaching' Talent From Its Tech Firms

(Bloomberg) — Taiwan said Chinese chip companies are "illegally poaching" talent and trade secrets, underscoring the heated global rivalry to develop the key technology used in phones, cars and artificial intelligence. 

A probe last month turned up eight Chinese companies that broke Taiwan law, including Naura Technology Group Co., a top Taiwanese intelligence and investigative agency said in a statement.

Naura, which supplies China's biggest chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., illegally recruited engineers who worked on chip-related equipment, according to the statement. 

Beijing-based Naura said in a statement to Bloomberg News that its office in Taiwan "was set up in accordance with local laws and regulations and there is no poaching."

China is pouring money into its campaign to develop a self-reliant chip industry to counter US efforts to restrict the growth of the industry in the Asian nation, largely due to concern the tech could give it a military advantage. Washington is also working to get allies like Japan and the Netherlands to sign onto that campaign, irking Beijing.