China’s integrated circuit (IC) production has failed to keep pace with its appetite for silicon, with market research firm IC Insights predcicting the nation will produce only one in five ICs it uses in 2026.
That figure is a increase from 2021’s one in six, and reflects eight percent compound annual growth rate from 2021 to 2026. But it means China will miss its own targets for locally-made-and-consumed silicon.
“Although China has been the largest consuming country for ICs since 2005, it does not necessarily mean that large increases in IC production within China would immediately follow, or ever follow” said the firm in a bulletin on Wednesday.
While $31.2 billion worth of ICs were made in China in 2021, only $12.3 billion were made by companies headquartered in the Middle Kingdom – approximately $2.7 from integrated device manufacturers and $9.6 billion form pure-play foundries like SMIC.
The other $18.9 billion of chips came from foreign companies with wafer fabs in China, including TSMC, SK Hynix, Samsung, Intel, and UMC.
The $58.2 billion worth of chips predicted to come from China in 2026, makes up 8.1 percent of the total projected worldwide market of $717.7 billion. IC Insights predicts China will consume $274 billion worth of kit, a whopping 38 percent of the worldwide consumption.
