Taiwan chipmaker MediaTek has urged its government to loosen regulations on investments and mergers in China and other overseas markets to keep the country’s chip industry from falling behind.

MediaTek CEO M.K. Tsai said the current rules are too restrictive, particularly the ban on exports of advanced chip technology to the mainland, Reuters reported.

At the company’s annual investor conference, he pointed to rivals Qualcomm and Intel, which have recently announced a number of major initiatives in the mainland.

Reuters quoted Tsai as saying: “China is such a huge market … if everyone else is going and you have to stay on the sidelines, you’re in a weaker position.”

The country’s regulations prohibit chip design companies from investing in R&D in China and also bar them from mergers and acquisitions. But investment in semiconductor manufacturing in China is allowed, though heavily regulated, Reuters said.

Tsai complained that Taiwan’s chipmakers have sat on the sidelines as foreign players have consolidated. In just the last two weeks Avago Technologies announced it will acquire rival Broadcom in a $37 billion deal and Intel confirmed it will purchase Altera for approximately $16.7 billion.

Taiwan’s economy is highly dependent on its chip industry, which is one of the largest in the world, but China is catching up.