At one of the biggest chip industry shows in the nation this week, Chinese companies involved in the semiconductor industry went all out to court local buyers, responding to Beijing’s appeal to rally support for a sector under increasing geopolitical pressures.
The phrase was emblazoned on the exhibits and promotional materials of numerous businesses, ranging from those that manufacture chip equipment to those that produce materials.
Among them were Shenzhen-listed Jingsheng, which produces silicon wafer processing machinery, and Kunshan-based Vel-Tec Semiconductor, which produces photoresist coating equipment.
Speaking with Reuters at the yearly SEMICON China show in Shanghai, more than a dozen Chinese exhibitors said that their goods could be substituted for those manufactured elsewhere.
Although there was still a difference in quality and efficacy, employees of foreign companies who were represented stated that Chinese competitors were catching up swiftly.
“A lot of people at the show were clearly focused on ‘buy local’ and moving supply chains out of US control,” according to Cameron Johnson, a senior partner at consultancy Tidalwave Solutions with a base in Shanghai who has attended SEMICON since 2016.
After several export restrictions from the United States and its allies, the Chinese semiconductor sector was given a window into its sentiments during the three-day event.
Washington claims that it does not want the Chinese military to have cutting-edge semiconductors and related technology.
China has invested billions of dollars in the project, but analysts claim that a significant gap still remains because of the intricate and internationally integrated nature of the chip supply chain.
The event, which drew enormous throngs of visitors and 1,100 exhibitors, included a number of Japanese, South Korean, and Taiwanese companies, but few American businesses made an appearance. Notably absent were well-known Chinese brands like SMIC, the biggest foundry in the nation.
