Huawei’s latest Mate 80 series is equipped with the self-developed Kirin 9030 chip. This processor adopts advanced manufacturing processes and integrates a high-performance CPU and GPU, along with an independently developed NPU. The Kirin 9030 shows significant improvements in AI computing power, 5G communication capabilities, and energy efficiency. It supports the deployment of large models at the edge and achieves full-stack autonomy and controllability, from the underlying architecture to the application ecosystem.
The emergence of this chip not only represents Huawei’s breakthrough under technological blockade, but also reflects the substantial progress of China’s chip independence process. In the context of the global restructuring of the semiconductor supply chain, mastering core chip technology has become a key element for national technological security and industrial competitiveness. To what extent has China’s chip development progressed as demonstrated by Huawei’s chips? This question deserves in-depth exploration.
Overall background and current status of China’s chip development
The development of Chinese chips has formed a large-scale industry. As of now, China has nearly 2,000 chip design companies, covering multiple fields from consumer electronics to industrial applications. This number reflects the activity and innovation motivation of market players in the process of localization.
Policy-level support is important for the development of the industry:
- Tax reduction policies reduce R&D costs for chip companies
- The National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund provides direct financial subsidies
- Local governments establish special support plans to promote regional industrial clusters
The import data of chips reveals the urgency of self-developed chips. China imports chips worth more than 300 billion US dollars every year, far exceeding the amount of oil imports. This dependence on foreign countries exposes the vulnerability of the supply chain in the face of changes in the international environment, prompting the industry to accelerate technological research and development, and comprehensively promote the construction of localized capabilities from design tools to manufacturing processes. Such a shift towards chip autonomy is crucial not only for reducing dependency but also for enhancing the performance and efficiency of various sectors, including AI. As highlighted in a recent article on chip autonomy, this move will significantly impact China’s AI models by providing more control over data processing and algorithm training.
The impact of chip autonomy on China’s AI models
Artificial Intelligence is essentially a competition for computing power. Countries that master advanced chip technology will largely determine the development trajectory and application direction of artificial intelligence. This reality makes chip localization a key turning point in the history of artificial intelligence development.
1. Supply Chain Dilemma and Breakthroughs in Localization
Local AI companies in China have long faced the dilemma of limited supply of high-performance computing chips when training large language models. The breakthroughs in Huawei’s Kirin series chips and the deployment of Ascend AI chips in data centers are changing this situation.
2. Self-Research Transformation of Tech Giants
Tech giants such as Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent have begun to adopt domestically produced chip solutions in their self-developed model training. This not only reduces dependence on external supply chains but also accelerates the iteration speed of models.
3. Formation of a Self-Sufficient Ecosystem
China’s continuous investment and innovation are likely to cultivate an increasingly self-sufficient domestic chip ecosystem, especially in the field of mature semiconductor processes. The formation of this ecosystem means full-chain collaboration from chip design and manufacturing to AI algorithm optimization, providing a more stable technical foundation for artificial intelligence applications.
The Promotion of China’s Chip Independence in the Terminal Equipment Industry
The improvement of chip independence is reshaping the technological landscape of China’s terminal equipment industry. The localized supply of computing power resources provides a solid foundation for various application scenarios.
1. Intelligent Computing Industry
The intelligent computing industry is experiencing explosive growth, with a significant increase in the adoption rate of domestic chips in data centers and cloud computing platforms. Local chip companies are demonstrating performance comparable to international products in specific AI inference tasks through optimized architectural design, and this expansion of computing capacity directly reduces the operating costs of enterprises. Notably, events like ARM’s recent unlocking event in Shenzhen signify a pivotal moment in this transformation, highlighting the advancements and potential of China’s chip industry.
2. Intelligent Driving
The field of intelligent driving is showing a trend of technological integration between the cockpit and driving. Autonomous chip solutions integrate the cockpit entertainment system with the autonomous driving computing unit, reducing hardware redundancy and improving system response speed. Many car manufacturers have already mass-produced intelligent driving models equipped with domestic chips, verifying the feasibility of the technical solution.
3. Robotics Industry
The robotics industry benefits from breakthroughs in physical AI technology, and the capabilities of domestic chips in real-time environmental perception and motion control continue to enhance. Industrial robots and service robots are beginning to adopt local chip solutions on a large scale.
4. Edge AI
Edge AI applications are rapidly expanding into fragmented scenarios such as smart homes and wearable devices, and the deployment of localized computing power ensures data privacy and reduces reliance on the cloud.
The impact of China’s chip autonomy on the industry chain
Chip localization is reshaping the operational model of China’s semiconductor industry chain. The upstream design tool software, midstream wafer manufacturing equipment, and downstream packaging and testing processes are beginning to form a close collaborative network. The deep cooperation between Huawei HiSilicon and SMIC is a typical example, where the design side optimizes the chip architecture based on the process characteristics of the manufacturing side, and the manufacturing side adjusts the production process according to specific design requirements. This two-way feedback mechanism significantly shortens the product iteration cycle.
The strategic value of self-controllable industrial chains is becoming increasingly prominent in the context of supply chain fluctuations. From photoresists and silicon wafers to packaging substrates, technological breakthroughs by domestic suppliers are filling the gaps in key areas. The 3D NAND flash memory from Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. and DRAM products from ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. have already achieved mass production. These breakthroughs not only reduce dependence on external supplies but also establish a complete technology validation platform, laying the foundation for subsequent process upgrades.
Conclusion: The Kirin series from Huawei symbolizes China’s strength in semiconductor design
The launch of the Huawei Kirin 9030 chip clearly demonstrates the substantial progress made by the Chinese semiconductor industry in terms of design capabilities, manufacturing processes, and ecological integration. This achievement is not only reflected in technical parameters but also in systematic breakthroughs within the industry chain.
China has a vast market with a population of nearly 1.4 billion people, and this scale advantage provides ample application scenarios and iteration space for domestic chip companies. Even in the face of restrictions in the international market, the demand in the domestic market is sufficient to support a world-class industrial scale and create a virtuous cycle of R&D investment and market return.
From the development trajectory of the Kirin series, it can be seen that the Chinese semiconductor industry is transitioning from being a follower to becoming a parallel player. Continuous technological accumulation, a complete supporting industrial infrastructure, and long-term support from policy and funding have jointly built an increasingly mature self-sufficient ecosystem. This development model indicates that China is expected to achieve a higher level of autonomy in the semiconductor industry in the future.