Industry Overview - The global semiconductor industry is a 527billionmarket,expectedtogrowto1 trillion by 2030, with over 70 new fabs projected to be built worldwide by 2030 to meet demand [7] - The semiconductor production process is highly complex, involving chip design, fabrication, and back-end assembly, test, and packaging (ATP), supported by key inputs like electronic design automation (EDA) software and semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) [8] - The industry is fiercely contested among nations, with China, the EU, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the US leading the competition [7] China's Semiconductor Industry - China lags behind global leaders in most aspects of semiconductor design and fabrication, particularly in advanced-node logic chips and SME, with a gap of about five years in leading-edge logic chips and even more in SME [6][20] - China has made progress in certain areas, such as the design of AI chips and mobile phone chips, with Huawei's Mate 60 Pro smartphone showcasing a 7nm chip that is only 18 months behind global competitors [32][34] - China's semiconductor industry is rapidly closing the gap, with significant investments and innovation efforts, particularly in mature-node chips, where China is expected to account for 39% of global production by 2027 [41] Key Subsectors Electronic Design Automation (EDA) - China has targeted progress in EDA since the Made in China 2025 initiative, with Huawei achieving breakthroughs in EDA software for 14nm and above processes, reducing reliance on foreign suppliers [27] - Chinese EDA companies like Empyrean Technology have made strides, with Empyrean claiming to support 7nm digital processes and 5nm analog processes, though full coverage of digital circuit processes remains a challenge [27] Semiconductor Design and Fabrication - China's semiconductor design industry has grown rapidly, with the number of design firms increasing nearly sixfold from 2010 to 2022, reaching total sales of 557.4 billion yuan (76.7billion)in2023[29]−ChinesefirmsareactivelyembracingRISC−Vtechnology,withover100significantcompaniesand100startupsdesigningchipswithRISC−V,aimingtoreducerelianceonWesternchipIPandarchitectures[30]MemoryChips−China′smemorychipmanufacturers,suchasYMTCandCXMT,havemadesignificantstridesbutfacechallengesduetoexportcontrolsandlackofaccesstoadvancedtooling,withYMTC′sglobalmarketshareexpectedtodeclinefrom31197.5 million spent in Q4 2022, and has built an innovation ecosystem through collaborations with industry and academia [78] China's Semiconductor Strategy - China's semiconductor strategy, driven by the National IC Plan and Made in China 2025, aims for self-sufficiency and global leadership by 2030, with over $150 billion in government subsidies invested since 2014 [79][82] - China is aggressively subsidizing its semiconductor industry, with state subsidies accounting for over 40% of SMIC's revenues from 2014 to 2018, significantly higher than global competitors like TSMC and Intel [80] - China is pushing for import substitution, with directives to replace foreign processors in telecommunications systems by 2027 and increase purchases from local auto chipmakers [82]