I. Introduction 

The new-generation information technology industry in Pingshan District focuses on semiconductor, integrated circuits (IC) and intelligent terminals. This includes major projects such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC)’s 12-inch wafer production line and Honor’s global manufacturing hub and R&D center. Through focusing on key areas and improving the industrial chain, Pingshan is promoting collaboration and innovation within the industrial chain, enterprise development, supportive policies, and offering funds, industrial spaces and other resources to encourage the industrial clusters development. In 2022, the output value of Pingshan’s new-generation information technology industry was 65.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%.

At present, Pingshan is home to more than 120 high-quality semiconductor and IC enterprises such as SMIC, O-Net Technologies, AST Technology, BASiC Semiconductor, etc. The industrial chain covers materials, equipment, design, manufacturing, packaging, testing, and application among other areas. 

High-end innovation platforms include Shenzhen Technology University’s College of Integrated Circuits and Optoelectronic Chips, BYD Central Research Institute’s Third-generation Semiconductor Research Center, the Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Shenzhen’s Friction X, Micro Optical Quantum Application Research Institute, and the Shenzhen Aopu Terahertz Research Institute. Pingshan plans to construct a tape-out service platform, fast packaging and testing service platform, a materials and equipment verification platform, and a semiconductor chemicals industry verification platform among others.

The intelligent terminal industry in Pingshan focuses on smartphones represented by Honor. With guidance and cultivation, the district is improving the industrial chain, accelerating the construction of the Pingshen International Digital Logistics Port, the IC and electronic components distribution center and other major projects. Pingshan strives to be the core engine of semiconductor and IC manufacturing in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), becoming one of the core areas of the national IC industry development.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) in Pingshan District.

II. Industry development 

1. Enterprise innovations

The first phase of SMIC’s 12-inch wafer production line went into production in June 2022, focusing on the production of 28nm-and-above ICs and providing technical services. Its 8-inch wafer production line was also successfully expanded. Next, Pingshan will promote in-depth cooperation between SMIC and leading GBA chip design companies, advance SMIC’s South China headquarters and 12-inch line Phase 2 projects, and reserve sufficient industrial land for SMIC’s 12-inch line Phase 2 project.

In 2022, Honor’s production capacity reached 10 million units and its global R&D center was put into operation. It was also awarded for its national intelligent manufacturing demonstration factory.

BYD Central Research Institute’s Third-generation Semiconductor Research Center specializes in the whole process and equipment manufacturing technology of the silicon carbide (SiC) wafer substrate. Its 4-inch SiC wafers have reached the world’s advanced level, and the center has taken the lead in China in realizing the IGBT and SiC MOSFET breakthroughs.

O-Net Technologies has grown into one of the world’s leading suppliers of optical communication devices, modules and subsystems, mastered the R&D and production capacity of chips, devices, and modules equipment in the whole chain, and currently possesses three major semiconductor material platforms of indium phosphide, gallium arsenide and silicon photonics. It’s leading the way in a number of high-tech fields such as optical chips, silicon photonics, optical coatings and optoelectronic encapsulation. It has also advanced its deployment in fields such as coherent optical devices, satellite internet, and vehicle-mounted LiDAR, and raised about 500 million yuan in pre-IPO.

As a third-generation semiconductor SiC MOS chip supplier, AST Technology has passed IATF16949 and ISO9001 quality systems and AEC-Q101 product certification. It has been selected for inclusion in the “Top 100 Core Components of China’s Intelligent Electric Vehicles in 2022” list. AST has completed a strategic financing of more than 300 million yuan, accelerating the R&D and technological innovation of automotive-grade SiC power MOS chips.

BASiC Semiconductor hosts Guangdong’s third-generation semiconductor SiC power device engineering technology research center. The company’s R&D covers SiC power semiconductor materials preparation, chip design, packaging and testing, drive applications and other key fields in the industry chain. Its core products include SiC diodes and MOSFET chips, automotive-grade SiC power modules, SiC driver chips, among others. More than 20 million self-developed SiC power device products have been sold and BASiC has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with GAC Aion for long-term sourcing.

Powev has integrated production capacity from chips to products, mainly produces DRAM and NAND Flash memory, and is the largest memory module manufacturer in China. Its brands, Gloway, Asgard, Sinker and Cuso, cover all the application scenarios from consumers to enterprises, and from SATA to PCIe. Powev has been selected as one of the 2022 Chinese IC Unicorns, and won the 2022 China UAV Specialized, Refined and Innovative Enterprise Award.

As a leading enterprise in the domestic filter industry, Microgate, in cooperation with Tsinghua University, the 26th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corp., Wuxi Shoulder Electronics and Shenzhen University, won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award for its high-generation acoustic surface wave materials and filter industrialization technology project.

In 2022, Kimtigo was granted the title of “Excellent Enterprise” by the China Electronics Enterprises Association. It has participated in drafting a national standard for semiconductor devices and possesses a unique comprehensive competitive advantage in semiconductor data storage.

Honor Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park in Pingshan District. Photo by Xinhua

2. Industrial chain

With leading companies such as SMIC in IC manufacturing, and BYD and Honor in intelligent terminals, Pingshan has attracted more high-end semiconductor equipment, core components and key materials enterprises, such as Grand Hitek, Hosin Global, and Huaxia Semiconductor. The district has also guided and cultivated chip design enterprises such as AST Technology, Muyewei Electronics and BASiC Semiconductor, enabling SMIC’s cooperation with Capchem, BYD’s cooperation with Laplace, and cooperations among BASiC, Quantian, Chipsbank and Global Foundries. The industrial cluster’s virtual vertical integration has been forming in Pingshan, and the district will continue to help enterprises to find markets, and coordinate with BYD and other terminal application manufacturers and system solution integrators to try the district’s self-developed IC products, equipment, materials and other products.

3. Research and production 

Thanks to Shenzhen Technology University’s positioning in cultivating outstanding engineers, Pingshan has been promoting close cooperation between the university and enterprises, such as SMIC, O-Net and Microgate, for in-depth integration of industry, academia and research. In 2021, the university, in cooperation with SMIC and other enterprises, jointly established the first Integrated Circuit School (now the College of Integrated Circuits and Optoelectronic Chips) in the GBA and is committed to cultivating high-end semiconductor and IC talents. 

In 2022, the college recruited Prof. Ning Cunzheng, a leading expert in the global field of nano-lasers and semiconductor devices, as its first dean. Ning has led his teams to conduct a number of research projects. In chip lasers and silicon-based optoelectronics integration, Ning’s on-chip semiconductor nano-lasers have reached the international top level; in radio frequency chips, he has cooperated with many enterprises to carry out research on SAW/BAW chips.

Next, Pingshan will propel the college to build the semiconductor micro-nano optoelectronic processing center, the IC pilot line project and other public technical service platforms. The semiconductor micro-nano optoelectronic processing center will help enterprises and scientific research institutions in semiconductor chip manufacturing and device development. The IC pilot line project will support semiconductor enterprises to efficiently turn mature crafts into products and cultivate mass engineers, technicians and operational teams for the GBA.

Shenzhen Technology University’s College of Integrated Circuits and Optoelectronic Chips. Photo by Sun Yuchen

4. Supportive polices 

Pingshan has taken the lead in introducing the city’s first policy on IC (third-generation semiconductors) in 2018, and is accelerating revising the IC industry funding measures in accordance with the city’s policy guidance. More precise and tailored policies for Pingshan will help guide the integration and development of the IC clusters.

In 2019, Pingshan launched the 500-million-yuan AVIC Pingshan IC industry special fund. As of the end of 2022, this Pingshan Government-led fund had participated in 12 sub-funds, managing a total of 5.45 billion yuan. In 2022, all types of industrial funds reached 1.8 billion yuan.

Pingshan is continuously offering high-quality industrial spaces, especially in the north Biling and north Longtian areas. In the next three years, 4 square kilometers of industrial land will be supplied. The district has also been building high-rise vertical factories, having offered 1.05-million-square-meter high-quality industrial spaces in 2022. In 2023, the district is building a total of 2 million square meters of customized high-quality plants.

Pingshan has successively been establishing public technical service platforms. The National IC Design Shenzhen Industrial Center’s Pingshan Branch Park was inaugurated in 2019, providing public services for chip design enterprises. IngDan Innovation Space, Sino-Europe Innovation Center and other incubation bases for IC enterprises have also been put into use.

Industrial support services have been improved. Pingshan Central Park’s sewage resource project and SMIC’s 12-inch fab project’s wastewater treatment have been completed. The district is planning its new IC base sewage resource demonstration project for IC enterprises’ wastewater treatment. Shenzhen Eastern Eco-Industrial Park’s hazardous waste transshipment center was put into operation in August 2022, which ensures hazardous wastes to be disposed of in a safe and timely manner. Relying on the Shenzhen Pingshan Comprehensive Bonded Zone, the construction of the IC and electronic component distribution center will be accelerated.

Industry communication and exchanges have continued to deepen. In 2022, the Shenzhen Pingshan semiconductor industry innovation and development high-end seminar, the National Industrial and Information Technology Technical Skills Competition finals, the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence China Summit and the 2022 China (Shenzhen) IC Summit were successfully held in Pingshan.

Workers in Honor's factory in Pingshan District. Photo by Xinhua

III. Future plans

Pingshan will continue to cultivate and strengthen the silicon semiconductor and IC industries, focusing on silicon-based semiconductors, optoelectronic devices, and broadband semiconductors. It will create a silicon-based semiconductor manufacturing hub in the GBA, a broadband semiconductor industry cluster, an optoelectronic device industry cluster, and a semiconductor materials and equipment industry cluster. The district will cultivate a virtual vertical integration industry system and accelerate the construction of the GBA chip hub, which will have both a national and global impact.

As leading enterprises in the district grow stronger, they will be an important engine and provide strategic support for industrial development to drive the industry to leap forward. Based on the GBA’s market demand, Pingshan will focus on intelligent connected vehicles, new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, intelligent terminals, intelligent medicine and other key areas, to drive the semiconductor and IC industry development.

The district will continue to use innovation and research to optimize the industry. Open and shared high-end service platforms will be established to promote the integration of industry, academia and research. Supportive policies on industrial spaces, talents and funds will be offered to attract a number of international and domestic quality projects, cultivate a batch of “specialized, refined and innovative” enterprises with industry influence, and rapidly improve the overall industry.

Pingshan is constructing a 16-square-kilometer industrial space, called “one core and two wings.” The “core” refers to a 7-square-kilometer industrial core area with the Shenzhen Pingshan Comprehensive Bonded Zone and the National New Industrial Demonstration Base as the main part, focusing on the silicon-based semiconductor projects and the industrial chain from the front-end R&D, wafer manufacturing, packaging and testing, and module manufacturing to device applications.

One “wing” is the 4-square-kilometer Biling Global Semiconductor Town, focusing on specialized, innovative and high-quality enterprises, high-end chip design, key equipment and material R&D and manufacturing, an IC sharing industrial park and industry incubation and transformation. The other “wing” is the 5-square-kilometer IC innovation belt surrounding the Shenzhen Technology University, focusing on R&D, scientific and technological services, the integration of industry and education, and innovative service platforms. By 2025, more than 100 high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises will gather here.

Pingshan will invite experts, scholars and staffers from the domestic and foreign new-generation information technology enterprises and venture capital institutions to participate in seminars and talks. The district will continue to help enterprises find markets and carry out industry chain collaboration activities on a regular basis. An exchange and cooperation platform will be set up for companies in the industrial chain, including leading companies such as SMIC, Honor and BYD.

Between 2022 and 2025, a total of 14-million-square-meter high-quality industrial spaces will be offered in Pingshan to ensure the high-quality development of the district’s nine strategic emerging industries and two future industrial clusters.