The development status of China's chip industry
A major breakthrough in chip design
In the field of chip design, China has made great strides. According to statistics, China has the largest number of chip design companies in the world, and the level of chip design ranks second in the world, second only to the United States. China has designed a number of excellent chip products, among which the CPU chip used in the "Sunway Taihu Light" supercomputer has been ranked first in the world for several years. The performance of CPU chips used in domestic mobile phones, computers and servers has basically reached the international advanced level.
In terms of chip design tools, China still has "shortcomings". Chip design relies on electronic design automation tools (EDA), and three U.S. companies provide this software service. This makes China dependent on the United States in chip design.
There is still a big gap in chip manufacturing
In the field of chip manufacturing, including manufacturing processes and manufacturing equipment, China's capabilities are still relatively weak. Chip manufacturing sounds like a traditional manufacturing industry, but it is actually a high-tech modern industry. To manufacture a chip, hundreds of millions of transistors need to be precisely arranged on a silicon wafer the size of a fingernail, and nearly 5,000 processes are required before and after.
At present, the most advanced chip manufacturing process in Chinese mainland is 14 nanometers, and the international leading level has reached 3 nanometers. China is also heavily reliant on imports for key chip-making equipment, such as lithography machines, etching machines. The supply of these devices is limited by the United States and its allies, which has severely constrained the development of China's chip industry.
Insufficient self-sufficiency in chip materials and equipment
In the field of chip materials and equipment, China's self-sufficiency is also very limited. The overall scale of the domestic semiconductor materials industry is small, the technical level is low, and high-end materials are heavily dependent on imports. The integrated circuit design automation (EDA) tool industry is also monopolized by three U.S. manufacturers.
China's independent capabilities in high-end chip manufacturing equipment are even more stretched. The global integrated circuit equipment industry is mainly monopolized by Japanese and American companies, and the industry concentration is extremely high. In recent years, although China has made some progress in the fields of etching machines and thin film deposition equipment, there is still the problem that high-end integrated circuit equipment is controlled by others.
Although China's chip industry has made breakthroughs in design, it still lags behind the international advanced level in core links such as manufacturing, materials and equipment, and its independent and controllable capabilities are insufficient.
The main challenges facing China's chip industry
The technical blockade is the biggest challenge
At present, the biggest challenge facing China's chip industry comes from the technological blockade and restrictions of the United States and its allies. The United States has been increasing its efforts to curb China's chip industry, restricting China's access to advanced chips and manufacturing equipment.
In October 2022, the United States introduced a "chip ban", which comprehensively restricts local companies from providing high-end chips and production equipment to China. In March this year, the United States reached an agreement with the Netherlands and Japan to restrict the export of EUV lithography machines and other equipment that can be used to produce high-end chips to China. These measures have seriously affected the development of China's chip industry.
Talent shortages constrain innovation
In addition to the technological blockade, the shortage of talents is also an important factor restricting the development of China's chip industry. Chip R&D and design technology content is high, and the shortage of talents is serious. The talents cultivated by colleges and universities tend to pay more attention to academics, and there is a certain disconnect with the needs of the industry. There is a shortage of interdisciplinary and systematic talents.
The industrial chain system needs to be improved
Due to the long chip industry chain and technical difficulties, the localization rate of chips in mainland China has been very low. In all aspects of the entire chip industry chain, there is still a big gap between China and international advanced technology. In order to realize the independent and controllable chip industry, it is necessary to build a complete, safe and reliable domestic chip industry chain.
Competition in the international market has intensified
With the expansion and diversification of the global chip market, China's chip industry is also facing fierce competition from international giants. Companies such as Intel, Samsung, and TSMC occupy a dominant position in technology, brand, and market, which has brought huge pressure to Chinese chip companies. Changes in the international market have also brought uncertainty and risks to China's chip industry.
The development path of China's chip industry
In the face of many challenges, China's chip industry needs to take the following measures to achieve breakthroughs:
Improve the strategic position of the chip industry
The chip industry is related to national competitiveness and information security, and its strategic position should be further improved. The state needs to encourage local government departments to introduce preferential policies, vigorously support the development of the chip industry, and rely on innovative chip enterprises to establish an innovation system.
Increase policy support and investment
It is necessary to increase policy support and investment in the chip industry to meet the financial needs of the development of the industry. We can make full use of the existing government investment funds, encourage social capital to set up investment funds, and improve the level of marketization of funds. At the same time, a loan risk compensation mechanism will be established to support chip companies to obtain financing.
Strengthen the cultivation and introduction of talents
Talent is the foundation of the development of the chip industry. It is necessary to improve the domestic chip talent cultivation mechanism, increase the overall support for "production, learning, research and use", and cultivate more interdisciplinary compound talents. At the same time, it is also necessary to actively introduce international talents to provide intellectual support for the development of the chip industry.
Build a safe and controllable industrial chain
It is necessary to accelerate the establishment of an independent, controllable, safe and reliable domestic chip industry chain and supply chain system. Achieve independence and controllability in key core technology links, and fundamentally ensure national economic security. At the same time, an early warning and prevention mechanism should be established to deal with risks, and risk awareness and prevention capabilities should be improved.
Adhere to the concept of openness and cooperation
In order to achieve independence and control, it is also necessary to maintain the concept of opening up and cooperation with the outside world. Adhering to the concept of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, we reject the narrow closed policy, actively integrate into the global chip industry chain division of labor system, and achieve complementary advantages.
Although China's chip industry has made great progress, there is still a certain gap with the international advanced level and faces many challenges. Only by improving the strategic position, increasing investment, improving the industrial chain, cultivating talents, and opening up and cooperating can we finally achieve independence and controllability and catch up with and surpass the international advanced level.