Outburst! Chinese companies announced that they would stop chip research and development, and foreign media said that they could not hold on
In recent years, China's semiconductor industry has faced unprecedented challenges and opportunities. As the leader of China's 5G technology, Huawei has been hit by US sanctions one after another, especially in the field of chips, which has triggered a boom in domestic independent chip research and development. In 2022, more than 5,700 chip-related companies will be cancelled or revoked, a year-on-year increase of 68%, reflecting that the industry reshuffle is accelerating. At the same time, the United States has also made great strides in chip technology, which has put tremendous pressure on China's semiconductor industry. Will there also be a turnaround in this crisis? The future of China's semiconductor industry deserves in-depth analysis.
1. Huawei has been suppressed, and China's semiconductor industry is in trouble.
Chinese high-tech companies, represented by Huawei, are leading the way in 5G communications technology, making the United States feel threatened. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei to the Entity List, significantly restricting the export of chips and other products to Huawei, and in 2021, the U.S. further revised export control regulations, directly cutting off Huawei's access to next-generation chips. In the absence of important components, Huawei's smartphone business is in trouble. Huawei's series of crackdowns have made China sensitive to the risk of squeezing basic technologies, and independent semiconductor research and development is imminent.
According to reports, in the first half of 2022, more than 5,700 chip-related companies in China were suspended or deregistered, an increase of 68% compared to the same period in 2021, spurred by the Huawei incident. Some companies saw the wind and entered the chip industry, but due to speculative psychology, they quickly gave up. This reflects the general lack of basic technology in China's semiconductor companies, and once they fall into trouble, it is difficult to persevere. In the context of the global wafer shortage, China is even more vulnerable, and the main industrial chain is facing the risk of rupture.
Second, the United States has made a breakthrough in technology, which has exacerbated the crisis of China's semiconductor industry.
In June 2022, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) successfully developed a molybdenum dioxide transistor, which realizes the control of the material structure at the atomic level and greatly improves the conduction efficiency. The industry believes that this is a revolution in chip manufacturing technology and will help the United States continue to lead. Some foreign countries** even believe that this is a sign of the United States' presence in China and the United States"Chip Wars"and a decisive victory.
The importance of MIT's new technological breakthrough lies in the fact that it will help the United States wean itself off its dependence on semiconductor manufacturing in East Asia. In the past, the United States mainly relied on foundries such as TSMC, but new technologies are expected to allow the United States"Make it yourself"and accelerate the construction of advanced production bases in the local area. This dependence on imports from Chinese semiconductor companies is a blow, and the technology gap was originally very large, and now it will be even greater.
Third, China's semiconductor industry is struggling, but not hopeless.
Although the current situation is bleak, China's semiconductor industry is not hopeless. It is necessary to clarify the advantages and disadvantages of China's wafer industry: Chinese companies are at a high level in terms of wafer design, packaging and testing, but the real shortcomings lie in manufacturing and equipment. The crux of the problem lies in the inability to master advanced equipment and processes such as lithography, which makes it impossible to achieve mass production of chips.
To fundamentally solve this problem, enterprises need to continue to invest a lot of money; At the same time, support at the national level is crucial. Fortunately, China has realized the seriousness of the problem and introduced a series of policies to encourage the development of the semiconductor industry, and some places are also vigorously supporting local wafer companies. China is also making steady progress in building a talent team and supporting scientific research platforms.
The current difficulties faced by China's integrated circuit enterprises will not be solved overnight, nor will they be solved once and for all. For an industry to grow in the weather, it takes patience and determination. At the same time, the support of the state and the support of all sectors of society are also indispensable. As long as we insist on independent innovation and continue to learn from foreign advanced experience, China's chewing gum industry will eventually achieve a leap from racing to running.
The current situation is difficult, but there is no need to panic, it is constant and stable, and China will definitely be able to achieve independent innovation in the field of semiconductors and eventually make breakthroughs in key basic technologies. This is a protracted war, which requires the joint efforts of all sectors of society and the unity of all sectors of society in order to ensure the country's economic security and the overall situation of scientific and technological development.