Chinese semiconductor industry

If you see a new processor chip on the news, and they don't mention explicitly where it is made, it's probably made by TSMC.

TSMC does not have a shortage of customers. In fact, there is not enough of TSMC to satisfy customer demand. If one company like MediaTek stops using TSMC, another will take its place, like NVIDIA.

Arcgem said:

If you see a new processor chip on the news, and they don't mention explicitly where it is made, it's probably made by TSMC.

TSMC does not have a shortage of customers. In fact, there is not enough of TSMC to satisfy customer demand. If one company like MediaTek stops using TSMC, another will take its place, like NVIDIA.

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Hi Arcgem,

That's an opportunity, I may sound cheesy (due to not being a tech expert) from a business point of view when there is demand there is a profit to be made. And since Media Tek outlook is uncertain that's a possible business venture to go to, they can join the wave of China IC indigenous effort with state support and maybe transform themselves to a China version of TSMC .

ansy1968 said:

Hi Arcgem,

That's an opportunity, I may sound cheesy (due to not being a tech expert) from a business point of view when there is demand there is a profit to be made. And since Media Tek outlook is uncertain that's a possible business venture to go to, they can join the wave of China IC indigenous effort with state support and maybe transform themselves to a China version of TSMC .

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No doubt there is profit to be made for a competitor fab. The barrier to entry is the problem. Take away ASML's machines, and it becomes insurmountable for any one company.

MediaTek, like others mentioned, is a fabless chip company just like everyone else. No way are they going to explore setting up their own fabs when TSMC is right around the corner.

gelgoog said:

Whitelisting Qualcomm and blacklisting other suppliers, including HiSilicon, sounds like something worthwhile sending to WTO court.

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WTO actually has a "National Security" exceptions section which handles issues like this.

Arcgem said:

No doubt there is profit to be made for a competitor fab. The barrier to entry is the problem. Take away ASML's machines, and it becomes insurmountable for any one company.

MediaTek, like others mentioned, is a fabless chip company just like everyone else. No way are they going to explore setting up their own fabs when TSMC is right around the corner.

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Hi Arcgem,

With sanction being weaponized, TSMC is a victim of it's own success, just as WTAN had said China is the main market, Samsung had seen it and had just landed a major deal. Media Tek and other wannabe FAB player need to move fast, within 2 years that window of opportunity will closed as Chinese FABS and IC equipment mature and IF a big IF SMIC, Huawei or even Huahong be able mass produce 7nm chips. It's game over, China may implement/ institute an import substitute program. I'm a tech newbie but what I had learn here is that 7nm is good enough to run a modern economy.

ansy1968 said:

Hi Arcgem,

With sanction being weaponized, TSMC is a victim of it's own success, just as WTAN had said China is the main market, Samsung had seen it and had just landed a major deal. Media Tek and other wannabe FAB player need to move fast, within 2 years that window of opportunity will closed as Chinese FABS and IC equipment mature and IF a big IF SMIC, Huawei or even Huahong be able mass produce 7nm chips. It's game over, China may implement/ institute an import substitute program. I'm a tech newbie but what I had learn here is that 7nm is good enough to run a modern economy.

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"Good enough" for consumer electronics is defined by your competition. Theoretically even 14 nm is more than enough for the typical consumer.

Thing is, consumers always want more. Faster phones, longer battery life, but in the same form-factor and price range. You would be hard-pressed to market trailing-edge tech to consumers when your competitors have the edge.

To paraphrase a quote: "Don't go to where the leader is now, go to where the leader is heading."

ansy1968 said:

Hi Arcgem,

With sanction being weaponized, TSMC is a victim of it's own success, just as WTAN had said China is the main market, Samsung had seen it and had just landed a major deal. Media Tek and other wannabe FAB player need to move fast, within 2 years that window of opportunity will closed as Chinese FABS and IC equipment mature and IF a big IF SMIC, Huawei or even Huahong be able mass produce 7nm chips. It's game over, China may implement/ institute an import substitute program. I'm a tech newbie but what I had learn here is that 7nm is good enough to run a modern economy.

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Be careful with Joe Biden. His policy could be the opposite of one of Trump. He could cancel trade war and tech war with China then demand China to respect free trade by staying out from supporting local champions and give no preference to domestic suppliers.

antonius123 said:

Be careful with Joe Biden. His policy could be the opposite of one of Trump. He could cancel trade war and tech war with China then demand China to respect free trade by staying out from supporting local champions and give no preference to domestic suppliers.

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Hi antonius123,

Good day bro, from my perspective, deep state and think tank run the US foreign policy, there is a bipartisan support to contain China so whichever party wins the policy will not change. What Trump had done it exposes the hubris of American power, it's hegemonic tendency. That trade agreement can be unitary act upon with sanction with flimsy excuses (without evidence) and using national security as a justification. So the train had left the station, China had tasted American hard power, it survive and had thrive. Whatever personal friendship Biden had with XI, China as a nation will not go through it again, the trust had been broken and it now has the confidence, resources and talent to challenge the US.

Yup I was right, the US will not permit Qualcomm to sell its 5G chips. At least the best selling HONOR brand and Huawei mid range smart phone will survive.

from cnTechPost

Qualcomm reportedly cleared to sell 4G chips to Huawei, license to sell 5G chips pending
2020-11-13 17:19:23 GMT+8 | cnTechPost
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Qualcomm has received a license to sell 4G chips to Huawei, Yicai.com quoted the upstream supply chain vendor as saying on November 13.
"(The 4G chip license) was obtained couple of days ago, and the 5G chip has not been licensed yet," a senior executive of a Huawei supply chain listed company said. One of the company's main businesses is the mobile phone ODM business, which works closely with Qualcomm and Huawei.

The report said Qualcomm had previously actively pushed the US government to allow its cooperation with Huawei, which has been gradually establishing cooperation with Huawei in 4G chips. After this permission, Huawei's ability to deliver on 4G phones is expected to strengthen.
Earlier today, according to KeyBanc, a leading Wall Street investment bank, Qualcomm was granted an export license to supply 4G chips to Huawei.
Following the previous earnings release on November 5, Qualcomm CEO said that the company had applied to the US government for a license to sell the chips to Huawei, but had yet to receive any response.
Yesterday, 36kr reported that a source close to Huawei said that Qualcomm has been granted license to supply Huawei, which means that the lack of money chip woes facing Huawei's P, Mate high-end products will be alleviated.
Earlier, Huawei rotating chairman Guo Ping revealed in a public speech that Huawei is willing to use Qualcomm chips if the US allows it.

Had Huawei found a solution to its Chip problem?

from cnTechPost
Huawei unveils new 5G solutions
2020-11-13 18:54:11 GMT+8 | cnTechPost
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At the 2020 Global Mobile Broadband Forum in Shanghai on November 12, Huawei proposed a 5G development goal called "1+N" and announced the 5G solutions that underpin this goal to build 5G minimalist networks.
Yang Chaobin, president of Huawei's wireless network product line, said, "The road to meet the future golden decade of 5G requires full spectrum to 5G and the construction of a minimalist target network with 1 universal coverage of wide pipes and on-demand overlay of N-dimensional capabilities."

On this basis, Huawei has proposed a "1+N" 5G target network, a full spectrum evolution towards 5G, and the construction of a universally covered wide pipe infrastructure network with medium frequency and high bandwidth at its core.

Huawei has released several products to improve 5G networks. These include the industry's first Blade AAU Pro solution that supports 64T64R Massive MIMO and Sub3G all-in-one.
The solution is based on a unique transparent antenna technology that enables minimal deployment of 64T64R Massive MIMO and Sub3GHz all-band, continuously reducing site deployment costs.
In addition, Wang Tao, Huawei's Managing Director and Director of the Product Investment Review Committee, said at the forum that 5.5G is the evolution of 5G and looks forward to working with industry parties to define 5.5G, improve personal real-time interaction experience and enhance cellular IoT capabilities.


Compared to 3G and 4G, 5G is developing at an unprecedented pace, said Wang Tao. Up to now, more than 110 5G commercial networks have been deployed worldwide, with more than 800,000 5G sites and 5G smartphones accounting for more than 60% of shipments.
In just one year, the number of 5G users worldwide has exceeded 200 million, compared with 320,000 and 400,000 in the 3G and 4G era respectively, he said.
He believes that 5G will be the dominant mobile technology until 2030, and will continue to serve until 2040.
But the development of 2G/3G/4G over the past 30 years proves that each generation of mobile communication technology must undergo continuous evolution and enhancement to burst into a stronger life force and achieve sustainable development of the industry, he claimed.