The United States has imposed sanctions ruthlessly, Huawei is in crisis, can China's scientific and technological strength save itself?
Huawei is in crisis under the severe sanctions imposed by the US government. As a Chinese tech giant, Huawei's fate tugs at the nerves of the Chinese people. We are all watching, how will Huawei save itself after being cut off from the supply of American technology? This is not only about Huawei's own survival and development, but also a big test of China's scientific and technological strength. Whether China can break through the encirclement with independent innovation will determine whether China can truly achieve self-reliance and self-reliance in science and technology.
From the very beginning, the U.S. sanctions on Huawei were motivated by a strategic intent to contain China's technological development. As early as 2018, the United States began to suppress Huawei on the grounds of "national security". In May 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei to the "Entity List" and banned U.S. companies from selling components to Huawei, which is undoubtedly a heavy blow to Huawei's survival and development.
In the face of such a grim situation, Huawei did not give up. On the contrary, the company worked together and went all out to invest in independent research and development. According to the data, Huawei's R&D investment in 2021 reached US$22.1 billion, accounting for 22.4% of the year's sales revenue, much higher than other technology giants in the same industry. Huawei has invested most of its resources in independent innovation.
Over the years, Huawei has made great progress in the fields of chips, operating systems, and 5G communications. In August 2022, Huawei suddenly launched the Mate 60 Pro mobile phone equipped with a 7nm self-developed chip, causing an uproar. Although the performance may be slightly inferior to that of American giants such as Apple, it has already demonstrated China's strength in chip independent research and development.
In addition to chips, Huawei is also leading the way in 5G communication technology. According to data, by the end of 2022, Huawei had signed more than 70 5G commercial contracts around the world. Even in the face of US sanctions, Huawei's global market share of 5G technology is still among the highest.
It is undeniable that Huawei has made tremendous efforts and costs on the road of independent innovation. But as far as progress is concerned, this is beginning to pay off. Huawei is proving that China is fully capable of being independent, controllable, and self-reliant in key core technologies.
We must also be soberly aware that compared with the United States and other developed countries, there is still a gap in China's scientific and technological strength. From the chip manufacturing process, to the basic software, key components, etc., we still need to make breakthroughs in many links. We must not stop at Huawei's phased achievements, but vigorously promote independent innovation in science and technology at the level of the whole society.
Only by taking self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology as the top priority of national development and concentrating the forces of the whole society to sustain investment can we truly grasp the fundamental plan of independent innovation. From the government to enterprises, from universities to scientific research institutes, the whole society should form a strong joint force, and make sincere efforts to promote the overall progress in all aspects such as personnel training, basic research, and industrialization.
We also need to be open and inclusive. Scientific and technological innovation has never been the business of one country or one nation, but the common cause of all mankind. We should humbly learn from and absorb advanced technology and experience from abroad, and strive to make China's innovative achievements benefit the world. Only in this way can we truly achieve self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology and contribute Chinese wisdom to the progress of human civilization.
Huawei's efforts on the road of independent innovation reflect the current situation and future prospects of China's chip industry. For many years, the mainland chip industry has been in a state of catching up and passive. According to official data, China's self-sufficiency rate of integrated circuits in 2022 is only 19.4%, and high-end chips are still heavily dependent on imports.
The formation of this passive situation is largely due to the incompleteness of the mainland chip industry chain. From design to manufacturing, to packaging and testing, Continental has shortcomings in all aspects. Taking chip manufacturing as an example, there is currently no 12-inch chip manufacturing line in China, and the high-end process capacity is seriously lagging behind.
The development of the chip industry in mainland China is also facing many bottlenecks such as talent shortage and insufficient capital investment. According to statistics, in 2021, the talent gap of integrated circuit design in mainland China will be as high as 400,000, and the lack of talents has become a key factor restricting the development of the industry.
The current situation of China's chip industry is the "musthave of shortcomings". If we do not make up our minds and persistently increase investment, it will be difficult to achieve a breakthrough in this basic and core area.
It is gratifying that in recent years, the country and all sectors of society have attached great importance to the development of the chip industry and have taken a series of effective measures. In June 2020, the State Council issued the "Several Policies for Promoting the High-quality Development of the Integrated Circuit Industry and the Software Industry in the New Era", proposing a number of policies such as increasing financial investment and strengthening talent training.
Local governments are also taking action. Taking Shanghai as an example, in 2022, the city issued the "Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Development Action Plan (2022-2025)", proposing to invest 100 billion yuan in the next three years to support the development of the integrated circuit industry.
With the strong support of policies, the development of the mainland chip industry is entering the fast lane. In 2022, the sales of the domestic integrated circuit industry will exceed 1 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.3%. This figure is not only a record high, but also a growth rate well above the global average.
What is more noteworthy is that the strength of domestic chip design enterprises and manufacturing enterprises is constantly improving. Taking SMIC as an example, the company has already achieved mass production of 14nm process and has begun to deploy 7nm process. On the design side, the strength of Allwinner Technology, Unisplendour Tongchuang and other enterprises is also increasing.
In the next few years, the mainland chip industry will usher in a period of rapid development. But we must also be soberly aware that compared with developed countries, the gap between the mainland chip industry is still large, and there are many shortcomings to be broken through.
In terms of manufacturing technology. At present, the world's mainstream chip manufacturing process has entered the stage of below 3 nanometers, while the most advanced mass production process in mainland China is only 14 nanometers. This means that in high-end fields such as smartphones and supercomputing, the performance of our chips will seriously lag behind that of foreign counterparts.
Electronic design automation (a shortcoming of EDA tools. EDA tools are the "basic tools" of chip design, and mastering the core EDA tools is essential for chip design. However, at present, the mainland's independent and controllable ability in the field of EDA tools is still very weak.
Dependence on critical materials and equipment. From photoresists, silicon wafers to lithography machines, many links in the upstream and downstream of the mainland chip industry chain are heavily dependent on imports, which undoubtedly increases the risk of the supply chain.
To solve these shortcomings, it is not enough to rely on a single company or local government. We need the joint efforts of the whole society to form a strong synergy.
At the national level, it is necessary to further increase financial investment to provide strong support for the development of the chip industry. It is also necessary to speed up the improvement of relevant laws and regulations to create a good environment for industrial development.
Local governments should give full play to their subjective initiative and formulate specific support policies in light of their own realities. For example, chip companies can be given preferential treatment in terms of land, taxes, and talents; It is also possible to focus on supporting certain characteristic links to form regional advantageous clusters.
Colleges and universities and scientific research institutes should bravely shoulder heavy burdens and make more contributions to basic theoretical research and the cultivation of high-end talents. Enterprises should also increase investment, carry out in-depth cooperation with universities and institutes, and form an innovation system that closely integrates production, education and research.
We should also attach great importance to international cooperation. The chip industry is an extremely globalized industry, and it is difficult for any country to be independent in all aspects. We should uphold an open and inclusive mindset, actively absorb advanced foreign technologies, and strive to bring China's innovation achievements to the world.