China Chip Production Slows Ahead Of New US Sanctions

Matthew Broersma,
Linkedin
Workers in a semiconductor plant. Image credit: Intel

Chip production slows in China in October ahead of expected export controls, while annual EV production capacity surges past 10 million units

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

China’s production of integrated circuits (ICs) grew at a slower pace in October, as weaker domestic demand reflected the expectation that a fresh round of US trade sanctions would be announced in the closing days of the Joe Biden administration.

IC output grew 11.8 percent year-on-year for the month to 35.9 billion units, down slightly from 36.7 billion units in September, said the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The figures are a broad measurement of China’s semiconductor output.

Total IC output in the first 10 months of the year grew 24.8 percent to 353 billion units, largely driven by legacy semiconductors, NBS said.

Chip equipment in a semiconductor fabrication plant
Image credit: Intel

Chip controls

The US sanctions have sought to prevent Chinese firms from developing the capacity to produce high-end chips at scale, while allowing the production of legacy chips to continue.

China exported $130.9 billion (£104bn) of semiconductor products in the 10 months ending in October, up 19.6 percent on the same period a year earlier, surpassing smartphones and nearly equalling the country’s $131.2bn in clothing exports, according to customs figures cited by the South China Morning Post.

China’s largest foundry, SMIC, said production capacity was running at 90.4 percent in the past quarter.

Semiconductors were the second-fastest growing industry for China this year, after electric vehicles (EVs), whose output jumped by 36.3 percent in the first 10 months of this year to 9.9 million vehicles, according to NBS.

In October Chinese firms produced 1.43 million EVs, up 48.6 percent year-on-year.

The China-built Nio Onvo L60 electric SUV. Image credit: Nio
The China-built Nio Onvo L60 electric SUV. Image credit: Nio

EV production

The country’s annual EV production capacity surpassed 10 million units last week, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said.

The US, Canada and the EU are amongst the countries and regions that have instituted steep tariffs on EVs over concerns that inexpensive Chinese-made electric vehicles could flood their markets.

China’s production of industrial robots grew 13.3 percent year-on-year through October, with output expanding 33.4 percent year-on-year for the month of October, according to NBS.

Growth in EVs, semiconductors and industrial robots helped China’s industrial value grow 5.3 percent year-on-year through October, offsetting declines in industries such as cement and crude steel.