Disruptive.Asia finds that China's quest for self-sufficiency in chipset manufacturing not only giving its 14nm chip-making capability a significant boost
towards full maturity, but also positioning the country as a key global partner in the chipset space as the supply chain shifts in favor of the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Cai Yimao, Vice Dean of School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science Peking University, Chinese companies have overcome many of the technical problems in developing 14nm chips, accelerating China's 14nm capabilities over the past couple of years. It is expected that China's 28nm chipset sector is on track for full maturity this year and 14nm chipsets are on track to follow suit by 2022.

Strong policy support and investment are supporting chip makers in China. Cai thinks the promulgation of relevant policies has made it clear that China continues to support the IC industry as a pillar industry. China has attached great importance to the development of the IC industry and continuously strengthens policy support and investment.

Currently, the supply chain shifts towards China and Southeast Asia. It is believed this will also drive domestic R&D of advanced technologies and spur rapid development of local enterprises in China as they accumulate technology expertise and management experience. Also, the gradual completion of the construction of new wafer fabs in mainland China provides new support for the chip industry in terms of reduced costs, expanded production capacity, and geographical convenience. The number and proportion of China's integrated circuit production lines have continued to increase. More than 20 300mm fab production lines have been put into production, and several are under construction.

Disruptive.Asia agrees that China has already mastered the technology for mass production of 14nm. Like what Cai has mentioned, China's domestic 14nm chips will be mass-produced next year, with a better balance of performance, power consumption and cost than ever before.