China Semiconductor and Integrated Circuit Industry Overview (2021)

Semiconductors are divided into four major categories according to application scenarios: integrated circuits, discrete devices, optoelectronic devices, and sensors.

Integrated Circuits : Integrated circuits (ICs) are fabricated by embedding transistors, capacitors, resistors, inductors and interconnects on semiconductor wafers, then packaging them into functional micro‑electronic components. The IC industry is a key battleground in global politics and economics.

Discrete Devices : Include crystal diodes, transistors, rectifier diodes, power diodes, compound diodes, etc., widely used in consumer electronics, computers, networking, automotive electronics, LED displays and more.

Optoelectronic Devices : Devices that exploit the photoelectric effect, such as photoconductors, photovoltaic cells, and light‑emitting semiconductors.

Sensors : Semiconductor‑based sensors sensitive to physical, chemical, or biological stimuli, applied in industrial automation, household appliances, environmental monitoring, and bio‑engineering.

ICs are further split into digital (logic devices, memory, micro‑processors) and analog (operational amplifiers, mixers, PLLs, power‑management chips) categories.

In 2020, the Asia‑Pacific region (excluding Japan) accounted for 61.78% of the global semiconductor market, valued at US$267.59 billion.

The IC industry chain consists of upstream design, mid‑stream manufacturing and packaging/testing, and downstream applications, supported by raw‑material and equipment sectors.

Three business models dominate the IC sector: fabless (design only), foundry (manufacturing only), and IDM (integrated design and manufacturing).

SMIC’s 14‑nm FinFET entered volume production in Q4 2019, representing the most advanced process in mainland China, while TSMC’s 3‑nm chips began pilot production in April 2021, highlighting a technology gap.

China’s high‑end chip manufacturing still relies on foreign lithography equipment, especially ASML’s extreme‑ultraviolet (EUV) machines.

According to IC Insights, HiSilicon ranked 10th among global semiconductor firms in the first half of 2020, but sanctions have shifted the top‑10 rankings toward foreign companies.

Among listed chip companies on the STAR Market, design firms such as Cambrian and Unisoc account for 48.57% of the total, reflecting a strong focus on design capabilities.

In recent IPOs, 35 companies raised a combined CNY 528.38 billion, with six firms (including SMIC, Huaxin Micro, Cambrian, Huashi, Unisoc, and Hengjiu) each raising over CNY 20 billion, underscoring the capital demand for design and manufacturing.

The "2021 China Integrated Circuit Market Research Report" and related reports on semiconductor equipment, materials, and series topics provide deeper analysis of industry trends, investment dynamics, and future outlook.

For full access, download links to the reports are provided, along with references to additional resources such as CPU/GPU research frameworks and heterogeneous chip collections.

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