China faces a chronic shortage of scientific and engineering talent that may hamper its efforts to become a semiconductor superpower and reduce its reliance on imported chips, according to industry figures. The problem is becoming more acute as the fledgling industry evolves amid a dearth of qualified senior professionals, they said. “If innovation is driven by technology, people are the key to advancing technology development,” said Zhang Wei, dean of the microelectronics school at Fudan University at a recent integrated circuit summit in the Chinese city of Nanjing, a semiconductor base. “Their levels will determine our strength.” The problem for…