China spent more in the first half of this year on chip-making equipment to expand its semiconductor capacity than the United States, Taiwan and South Korea combined, indicating how serious the country is about silicon self-sufficiency and building its own industry.
The truth about China's latest AI chips
According to semiconductor industry body SEMI, China splashed $25 billion on silicon fabrication kits in the first six months of 2024. And all signs are that this spending pattern will continue in the second half of the year, it said.
Those figures were revealed at the organization's SEMICON trade event held in Taiwan this week, and included the forecast that China will also be the biggest investor in building new chip manufacturing facilities this year, according to reports from Nikkei Asia.
But SEMI also said it expects significant annual spending growth through 2027 in other regions, including Southeast Asia, the Americas, Europe and Japan due to a growing global trend for onshore semiconductor production.
