China builds supercomputer with all domestic chips

China has bolstered its claim to leadership in the highest reaches of computing with a supercomputer that was built with domestic processor chips, The Wall Street Journal reports. A massive machine in the city of Wuxi grabbed the top spot in a twice-yearly ranking of the 500 fastest scientific computers, offering more than twice the performance of another Chinese system that has led the list for three years. The supercomputer’s test performance is roughly five times faster than the leading U.S. system, which now ranks third. Sunway TaihuLight, as the new machine is called, marks the first time China has taken the top speed ranking without using U.S. semiconductor technology.