People’s Daily reports that China’s semiconductor industry is experiencing rapid growth. In July, integrated-circuit output by large industrial firms reached 53 billion chips, equivalent to about 1.7 billion chips per day. During the first seven months of 2026, integrated-circuit exports reached $216 billion, up 99.5 percent year-on-year and already exceeding the full-year 2025 total of $201.9 billion.
The article attributes the growth to strong global demand, China’s large domestic market, and its relatively complete semiconductor supply chain. China’s capacity for mature-process chips of 28nm and above now accounts for nearly 30 percent of global capacity.
The article also identifies four major challenges:
- Technology bottlenecks: High-end chips remain subject to foreign technology restrictions, while domestic production of key materials and semiconductor equipment remains insufficient, creating supply-chain vulnerabilities.
- Unbalanced industrial structure: Capacity growth is concentrated in memory chips and mature processes, with risks of overcapacity and duplication in some lower-end segments, while high-end chip capacity remains insufficient.
- Talent and ecosystem gaps: The industry faces shortages of chip architects, AI-chip specialists, and advanced-process integration experts. Coordination among industry, universities, research institutions, and end users remains underdeveloped.
- Growing international competition: Intensifying U.S. technology restrictions and restructuring of the global semiconductor industry create uncertainty over whether China can sustain its rapid export growth.
Source: People’s Daily, September 7, 2026
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2026/0907/c1004-40793493.html