While US sanctions against China are deepening, China is accelerating its semiconductor self-sufficiency. Following the Chinese government’s recent push to produce its own high-performance memory semiconductor high-bandwidth memory ( HBM) for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, Huawei , China ‘s largest telecommunications equipment company, released a mobile phone equipped with a Chinese 5G (fifth generation mobile communication) chip. is being evaluated. Imports of semiconductor equipment from China also reached a record high. Some analysts say that China is recklessly stealing Korea’s technology and manpower to secure semiconductor production capabilities, posing a threat to our competitiveness. According to industry sources and foreign media on the 5th, the Chinese government has recently been focusing its capabilities on HBM’s independence. HBM is a memory semiconductor needed to drive large-scale AI such as Chat GPT . Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post ( SCMP ), citing sources on the 30th of last month, said that it will be an uphill battle for China to catch up with HBM leaders SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and Micron, but that the Chinese government must become self-sufficient in HBM even if it takes several years. He said a decision had been made. HBM
A company that has emerged as a hope for self-reliance is Changshin Memory Technology ( CXMT ) , a major Chinese DRAM manufacturer . The Chinese semiconductor industry believes that it can produce its own HBM within four years because cutting-edge exposure technology such as EUV (extreme ultraviolet) equipment , which is blocked for export to China, is not essential for HBM production.
Huawei unveiled its new smartphone ‘Mate 60′ during U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Lemondo’s visit to China late last month. The industry estimates that this smartphone contains a 7-nano (1 nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter) ‘Kirin 90000’ chip manufactured by SMIC , a Chinese foundry (semiconductor consignment production) company. Bloomberg tested this phone on the 1st and reported that the communication speed was close to that of the latest iPhone and that it had a bandwidth similar to that of other 5G phones. When Huawei, which has been unable to import 5G chips since 2019 due to U.S. sanctions, released a 5G mobile phone, China’s state-run Global Times commented, “This is enough to prove that America’s extreme oppression has failed.” Currently, Huawei is selling this phone by advertising it as “the most powerful model ever” without disclosing the specific processor specifications or source.
China is purchasing a large amount of equipment needed for semiconductor production in preparation for strengthening global sanctions. According to Chinese customs data, Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML was imported by China from January to July of this토토사이트 year .The scale of DUV (deep ultraviolet) exposure equipment reached $2.58 billion (about 3.4 trillion won), a 64.8% increase from last year. Since 2019, China has been unable to import ASML ‘s cutting-edge EUV lithography equipment due to US sanctions. Instead, we have purchased DUV , which is a relatively old type of equipment . However, as the possibility of even importing DUV equipment being blocked from January next year increased, they began stocking up in advance. Local media predict that China is developing DUV equipment and will be able to produce it on its own by the end of this year.
There is also an analysis that Korea is suffering direct damage from China’s movement to become self-reliant in semiconductors. Kim Yang-paeng, an expert researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, said, “China is doing everything it can to steal technology and engineers from countries that produce semiconductors, such as Korea and Taiwan, posing a direct threat to our companies and national competitiveness.” was diagnosed. It is pointed out that China’s approach to grow the semiconductor industry by mobilizing enormous funds while lacking technological capabilities is leading to technology theft and human outflow. In fact, Chinese companies are known to be offering huge salaries to key domestic semiconductor researchers.
However, the prevailing opinion is that it will not be easy for China to become self-reliant in semiconductors despite the full support of the Chinese government. A global supply chain that can supply quality components is essential for the production of semiconductors and semiconductor equipment, but it is virtually impossible for China, which is currently under strong sanctions, to breach this supply chain. China declared ‘Made in China 2025’ and announced its ambition to increase semiconductor self-sufficiency to 70% by investing 1 trillion yuan (approximately 181 trillion won) in the semiconductor industry. I think it is. Expert researcher Kim said, “China, which has grown the display industry to the world’s No. 1, decided that the semiconductor industry, which has a similar ecosystem, could overcome its disadvantageous situation by mobilizing enormous financial power.” He added, “However, the United States has thoroughly discouraged foreign companies from investing in China.” “As the semiconductor industry is being controlled, the growth of the semiconductor industry in China will be delayed,” he analyzed.