China is the center of global manufacturing, and the Chinese market has a large share of semiconductor sales in the global market, equivalent to the United States, the European Union and Japan combined, especially cell phones and computers are the first in terms of production, which consume a lot of chips. The demand for semiconductors continues to increase with the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the promotion of strategic emerging industries such as 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), energy saving and environmental protection, and new energy vehicles. It is expected that the scale of China's semiconductor market demand will further expand in 2024, and the scale of market demand is expected to reach 1,985 billion yuan.
SEMICON China is being held in Shanghai this week. Since it was first held in Shanghai in 1988, SEMICON China has become one of the premier semiconductor industry events in China, encompassing the major equipment and materials vendors in the world's semiconductor manufacturing field today. Due to the impact of the technology war between the U.S. and China, there were virtually no U.S. chip equipment companies on the list of 1,100 exhibitors at the show, and KLA, a major supplier of semiconductor defect inspection and metrology systems in the U.S., was the only major U.S. tooling company to attend the show as both an exhibitor and a sponsor. Micron Technology, the U.S. memory chip giant affected by China's trade restrictions, was also listed as an event sponsor, but its latest products were not on display. Amid growing geopolitical tensions and strict U.S. export controls, China has no direct access to advanced chips, such as the H100 and A100 graphics processors designed by U.S.-based NVIDIA. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association International (SEMI), the Chinese mainland saw a 28% year-on-year increase in 2023 amid a 2% year-on-year decrease in global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales. Chinese companies that anticipate further tightening of controls in the U.S. are accelerating procurement of equipment in the semiconductor mature process field. Large overseas companies are stepping up their order-taking activities. However, from the current situation, the impact on China is not very large, China in the traditional chip, such as automotive and household appliances chip production to meet domestic demand is relatively smooth progress.
In this semiconductor exhibition most exhibitors from mainland China, focusing on semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials. At present, 109 fabs are scheduled to be put into operation before 2026, of which China accounts for 44, with the steady increase in the localization rate of semiconductor equipment, domestic manufacturers of semiconductor equipment parts department of the importance of autonomy are also expected to increase.
