Nanjing And Wuxi Supercharge Chinas Semiconductor Production

China continues to make huge efforts to free itself from dependence on semiconductors from other countries, which are used in an increasing number of scenarios. Recent events show that here in Jiangsu, Nanjing and Wuxi are in the lead.

On June 30, the second phase of Huahong Wuxi IC production and R&D base in Wuxi High-Tech Zone was officially launched. Shanghai Huahong's huge investment of US$6.7 billion brings the industrial cooperation between Huahong Group and Wuxi to a new level.

To prove this, the governor of Jiangsu Province, Xu Kunlin, sent a video message announcing the start of construction. the deputy governor of the province is Hu Guangyin; Huahong Group Chairman Zhang Suxin personally attended and laid the foundation for the project.

The huge investment is sure to boost Wuxi's already impressive performance in the domestic integrated circuit (IC) industry. Last year, Wuxi Hi-Tech District achieved sales of 136.2 billion yen, second only to Shanghai Zhangjiang. This makes it one of the most unique industrial facilities in China, with a value of more than 100 billion yen.

Shortly before that, on the morning of June 20, a meeting on IC supply and demand was held in Nanjing. About 80 companies participated in the event and talked about the path of new supply and demand and new opportunities in the industry chain.

As reported by Nanjing Daily, an industry expert from Jiwei Consulting analyzed the current development trend and said: "The development of the entire semiconductor industry has always been based on the demand for future applications." You must respond to the needs of the market to respond.”

The meeting highlighted Nanjing's important manufacturing capabilities in the semiconductor industry and related industries.

Just look at the city's three major high-tech industries. Jiangbei New District, Nanjing Economic Development Zone in Jia County and information and communication industry base in Jiangning Province.

IC industrial bases in Jiangbei and Pukou have brought together a number of key projects and leading companies, including Huatian Technology. Since 2016, the regions compound annual growth rate has exceeded 40%.

Northeast of Nanjing, Nanjing Economic Development Zone is home to well-known companies such as BOE, Shanjin Optoelectronics, and LG Display. They are joined by nearly 100 companies across the industry chain that manufacture devices, boards, modules and applications and have strong local support capabilities.

Finally, in Jiangning District, where there are about 100 major companies such as ZTE and Ericsson Panda. Like Wuxi High-Tech Zone, it is another industrial center with a scale of more than 100 billion yen.

What does all this mean for the local economy? In 2022, the output of electronic information industry in Nanjing will be 306.12 billion yen. This is 18% of Nanjing's GDP. In this context, the integrated circuit industry achieved cumulative sales of 56.803 billion yen, an increase of 12.4 percent over last year.

These developments alone will not end China's dependence on foreign chips. But while they join other similar initiatives elsewhere in China, they are certainly important steps in the right direction.