From "Death of Chips" to "Winning the Strategic Commanding Heights"
[Text/Observer.com Zhang Ming]
At present, the global chip landscape is being reshaped at an accelerated pace. From the U.S. restrictions on the export of chips to Chinese technology companies, to China's massive investment in expanding chip production capacity, this series of changes is profoundly affecting the entire semiconductor industry chain.
This chip battle, which is regarded as a "new round of scientific and technological cold war", is not only related to the country's scientific and technological strength, but also involves the competition of strategic interests of all parties. For a while, who can occupy the commanding heights in this fierce "chip war" will also determine the direction of the future digital economy.
In the face of US suppression, Chinese companies have taken the initiative to accelerate the pace of domestic substitution of chips. Data shows that China's chip imports in 2021 were as high as US$439.7 billion, but by 2023 they have decreased to US$349.4 billion, a decrease of more than 20%. This obvious downward trend reflects that China is steadily promoting independent and controllable chips, and gradually reducing its dependence on American chips.
Although China has continued to increase investment in the chip field in the past few years, and the manufacturing process and production capacity have been significantly improved, it will still take longer to completely replace American chips. However, this trend of transformation is irreversible. Chinese companies are working together to catch up with the "finish line" of independent and controllable chips.
The strategic intent of "chip autonomy and controllability".
As the "heart" of the digital economy, chips have long been a shortcoming of the mainland's scientific and technological innovation. However, in recent years, driven by the national strategy, Chinese companies are accelerating the domestic substitution of chips and striving to achieve control over key core technologies.
The reason why the chip is independent and controllable is regarded as the top priority at present is mainly due to the following considerations:
The first is to ensure national security. It can be seen from the various restrictive measures taken by the United States against Chinese companies that the commanding heights of key chip technology have become the key to the game of various countries. Once the supply of key chips is controlled, it will not only have a huge impact on the relevant industrial chain, but also may become a "soft underbelly" that threatens national security. Therefore, improving the independent and controllable ability of chips is not only the need to maintain national economic security, but also an urgent requirement to ensure long-term strategic security.
The second is to ensure the development of the digital economy. With the deepening of digital transformation, chips have penetrated into all walks of life and become the foundation to support the development of the digital economy. Once the supply of chips is blocked, it will directly affect the operation of industrial production, communication services, automobile manufacturing and many other fields, and bring a serious impact on economic development. Therefore, mastering key chip technologies is also a prerequisite for ensuring the sustainable and healthy development of the digital economy.
The third is to enhance international competitiveness. At present, the global semiconductor landscape is being reshaped at an accelerated pace, and the United States is trying to curb China's rise in this field by restricting chip exports to China. If left unchecked, China will not only be passively controlled in key technology fields, but may also further lose its competitive advantage in the digital economy era. Therefore, accelerating the independence and controllability of chips is not only the need to safeguard national interests, but also an urgent requirement to enhance international competitiveness.
In general, independent and controllable chips have become the key to China's economic security, digital development and international competitiveness. In this increasingly fierce "chip war", who can grasp the commanding heights of chips will surely dominate the direction of the future digital economy. This is also the fundamental reason why Chinese companies should go all out to take the lead in this competition.
From the "death of chips" to independent and controllable
In the past few years, the dilemma faced by Chinese companies in the field of chips has been dubbed the "death of chips" by the industry. The main manifestations are as follows:
The first is that key chips are heavily dependent on imports. Taking PC as an example, for a long time, almost all the CPUs used by domestic mainstream manufacturers come from Intel and AMD, and it is difficult to break through the monopoly position of American companies. In the field of mobile phone chips, Qualcomm and MediaTek also dominate the lifeblood of Chinese mobile phone manufacturers. This serious dependence on imports makes it easy for Chinese companies to be controlled by others, and once they are suppressed by the United States, they will be on the verge of "losing their voice".
The second is the lack of independent research and development capabilities. Subject to factors such as "stuck neck", domestic chip companies have lagged behind the international advanced level for a long time in key areas such as basic R&D and process manufacturing. Although investment has been accelerated in recent years, it still takes a long time to fully catch up and surpass.
Thirdly, the industrial ecology needs to be improved. The chip industry involves multiple links such as materials, design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, and requires close cooperation between upstream and downstream enterprises. However, at present, there are still many shortcomings in the domestic chip industry chain, and the upstream and downstream cooperation is not close enough, which restricts the improvement of the overall competitiveness.
The existence of this series of problems has made Chinese companies in a passive situation in the field of key chips for a long time and are easily suppressed from the outside. In this context, it has become inevitable for China to actively promote the independence and controllability of chips.
After continuous efforts in recent years, China has made some important progress in the independence and controllability of chips:
The first is the significant improvement in manufacturing capacity. At present, China has become the world's second largest semiconductor manufacturing center, accounting for nearly one-third of the world's production capacity. Some domestic chip companies have mastered advanced processes such as 7 nanometers, and some chip products have begun to be supplied to the outside world. This has laid a solid foundation for Chinese enterprises to achieve breakthroughs in key areas.
Second, the pace of import substitution has accelerated. Data shows that China's chip imports in 2021 were as high as US$439.7 billion, but by 2023 they have dropped sharply to US$349.4 billion, a decrease of more than 20%. This is enough to prove that Chinese companies are taking the initiative to reduce their dependence on American chips and accelerate the pace of domestic substitution.
Thirdly, the construction of industrial ecology is accelerated. With the support of policies, domestic chip upstream and downstream enterprises are accelerating integration and cooperation and constantly improving the industrial chain. The supporting capabilities of related manufacturing equipment and materials are also continuously improving, laying a solid foundation for the independent and controllable chips.
In general, in the case of the coexistence of external challenges and internal development, Chinese enterprises are going all out to achieve the transformation from "chip death" to independent and controllable. This not only highlights China's determination and strength in this "chip war", but also reflects its strategic intention to compete for the commanding heights in key technology fields.
Only by grasping the initiative in the "heart" of the digital economy can China truly ensure national security, safeguard industrial development, and enhance international competitiveness. Therefore, in the coming time, China will further increase investment and innovation in the field of chips, and promote the transformation from a manufacturing country to a manufacturing power.
At present, the United States is trying to curb China's rise in this field by restricting chip exports. However, the tenacity and determination of Chinese enterprises will eventually overcome external pressure and win the commanding heights in this fierce "chip war".
In the future, with the continuous enhancement of China's independent and controllable chip capabilities, the strategic space for the development of its digital economy will also continue to expand. This will not only inject strong impetus into the domestic industry and promote the transformation and upgrading of the real economy, but also win a more favorable position for China in the global digital economy and lay a solid foundation for future development.
It can be said that this "chip war" is not only about the vital interests of national strength, but also about the dominance of the future digital era. In this process, China will surely contribute more Chinese wisdom and strength to the development of the world's digital economy.