[News] Unveil China’s 14 Major Challenges in Electronic Information Engineering: AI, New Sensors, and Optoelectronic Semiconductors

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As the United States intensifies its chip embargo against China, the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) has released an annual report for technological development. This report serves as a strategic guide to navigate the embargo and promote autonomous technological growth comprehensively.

According to the report from China’s Jiwei, on September 26th, the CAE unveiled “14 Major Technical Challenges in the Development of China’s Electronic Information Engineering and Technology (2023).” These challenges span various sectors, including the digitalization, informatization, microelectronics, optoelectronics, optical engineering, measurement and instrumentation, networking and communication, network security, computer magnetic fields, electromagnetic environmental effects, control systems, cognition, computer applications, ocean network information systems, and the ability to respond to major emergencies, totaling 14 distinct areas of focus.

In early March of this year, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) assessed that China leads the global market in 37 out of 44 critical or emerging technology sectors. Nevertheless, China acknowledges certain areas where technological development falls short, particularly within its manufacturing sector.

Even China itself has raised concerns about quality and reliability, resulting in the issuance of the “Implementation Opinions on Improving Manufacturing Reliability” by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), accompanied by significant reforms within the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, reflecting a concerted effort to address these issues.

Wage the Microchip: Mastery of 3D Integration, Chiplets, and Advanced Packaging Technology

The key elements on this list revolve around semiconductor and manufacturing industries. With silicon process nodes are shrinking to a single nanometer, it’s evident that they are approaching physical limits. Consequently, Chinese engineers recognize the necessity of mastering 3D integration, chiplets, and advanced packaging technologies to achieve significant breakthroughs. Tasks such as integrating microelectronics, photonics, and electronics technologies into chips and enhancing optical communication are on Beijing’s high priorities.

Sensors also feature prominently on it, particularly for aiding the manufacturing of ultraprecise photolithography machines necessary for semiconductor production. Furthermore, the CAE recognizes the need for additional measurement instruments to facilitate the manufacturing of aviation engines and aircraft.

In light of China’s significant setbacks resulting from the export ban on photolithography machines, developing superior domestic technology to reduce dependence on imported equipment and technology has become China’s chosen approach for addressing the US-China tech conflict and associated bans.

The list also underscores quantum computing, information security, and AI, which frequently emphasized by Chinese officials when discussing the future development direction of the domestic industry. 6G technology is also a highly anticipated focus, as it will serve the development needs of vertical applications driven by AI and big data, thereby propelling the next wave of progress across various sectors.

China’s aspirations extend to the creation of a “marine network information system.” Rumors suggest that China has already operationalized a complex underwater surveillance network. The 14-challenge list from the CAE also hints at Beijing’s ambition to establish a theory of underwater nonlinear sounds, optimize the control and utilization, and make significant strides in novel sensing areas such as ocean fine remote sensing, non-acoustic detection, ocean vessel meteorological navigation, interdisciplinary communication, and underwater information processing.

(News Source: TechNews)
(Image Source: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)