[News] Huawei Reportedly Acknowledges China’s Semiconductor Development May Have Plateaued, Facing Challenges Below 3.5nm

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The ongoing tightening of US restrictions on China’s access to advanced chips and production equipment may have significant impact on China’s semiconductor development progress. According to a report from Liberty Times, a top executive at Huawei, a Chinese tech giant, admitted that China’s ambitious semiconductor efforts may have reached a plateau. This statement has surprised many in the industry, as China has consistently expressed confidence in its semiconductor growth capabilities.

During the Mobile Computility Network Conference in Suzhou, China on June 9th, Zhang Ping’an, the Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Cloud Services, expressed concern that China, due to US sanctions, is unable to purchase 3.5nm chip equipment.

Recently, Huawei successfully mass-produced 7nm chips without using lithography technology. This development has surprised the global semiconductor market and has led to speculation that Huawei may soon also mass-produce 5nm chips.

Per a report from Business Korea, Zhang further noted that manufacturing 3.5 nm semiconductors necessitates EUV lithography machines, which Huawei is reportedly working on independently. However, overcoming U.S. and Dutch patents to internalize this technology is considered highly challenging.

Previously, as per a report from Chinese media outlet “Phoenix New Media,” Zhang Ping’an also pointed out that the semiconductor industry in China currently cannot directly compete with developed countries in cutting-edge processes, such as 3nm and 5nm. This is an indisputable fact, but it does not mean that China’s semiconductor industry has no prospects for development. Furthermore, Zhang believed that the semiconductor industry in China should be more focused on deepening efforts in relatively mature processes, such as 7nm, to enhance product performance and reliability, meeting the needs of the market and users.

Moreover, some Chinese manufacturers are exploring ways to overcome these restrictions. Notably, Chinese DRAM manufacturer ChangXin Memory Technologies is reportedly preparing to mass-produce 18.5nm DRAM to circumvent US sanctions on DRAM equipment below 18nm.

Read more

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