Chinese chip industry leaders admit the country lags five to ten years behind in AI data center chips — AI demand is straining equipment and talent supply

Senior Chinese semiconductor executives said AI-driven demand is creating bottlenecks across equipment, passive components, and workforce capacity, according to a DigiTimes report from the SEMI Industry Innovation Investment Forum at SEMICON China 2026, which ran March 25-27 in Shanghai.

The panel brought together leaders from ACM Research, National Silicon Industry Group, Sino IC Leasing, and Chongqing Xinlian Microelectronics to discuss investment priorities, supply chain pressure, and the push to take Chinese chip equipment international.

David Wang, CEO of ACM Research, said the AI surge has been propelled by chip advances but argued that future progress depends on semiconductor equipment. Next-generation manufacturing tools haven't yet been developed, Wang said, and will likely define the trajectory of computing performance going forward.

Wei Li, standing vice president of National Silicon Industry Group, pointed to rising demand for memory, data center power management ICs, and optoelectronic technologies, with data transmission and 6G emerging as key focus areas.

Daniel Yuan, EVP of Sino IC Leasing, said multilayer ceramic capacitors are facing shortages as data center construction accelerates. Sino IC Leasing is a state-backed financial leasing company focused exclusively on the integrated circuit industry, and Yuan's comments reflect broader supply pressure across passive components that underpin AI server builds.

Lee Haiming, SVP of Chongqing Xinlian Microelectronics, said AI growth is forcing Chinese foundries to scale up faster while talent retention and equipment utilization remain key constraints. Lee added that China remains competitive in consumer chips but lags five to ten years behind in automotive and data center semiconductors. He cited AI adoption in manufacturing as one path to narrowing that gap.

Chongqing Xinlian is a state-owned specialty foundry backed by China's Big Fund Phase II. The company is building the first Chinese 12-inch wafer fab in Chongqing's Xiyong Microelectronics Industrial Park with an initial capacity target of 20,000 wafers per month, focused on automotive-grade chip production.

Panelists also discussed international expansion. Wang said sustained investment and market scale are critical to global competitiveness, with differentiated technologies forming the foundation of that. Li acknowledged that geopolitical constraints persist but said companies can reach overseas customers by delivering value, with domestic competition increasingly pushing firms toward export markets.

The panelists were all in agreement that AI will continue to drive capital expenditure growth, with sustained investment and AI-driven manufacturing upgrades essential to maintaining competitiveness.

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