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Ann Cao

The founder of China’s largest contract chipmaker has urged the country’s semiconductor industry to pursue breakthroughs in niche markets such as mature chips, citing their importance for “supply chain security”.
Richard Chang Rugin, 78, former CEO of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), cautioned against blindly chasing industry hype around cutting-edge process nodes.
The industry veteran stressed the value of investing in mature nodes and specialty processes, which accounted for more than 80 per cent of global semiconductor demand, according to an interview with Chinese financial media outlet Star Market Daily published on Saturday.
His comments mark a rare public call by the SMIC founder and come ahead of a meeting this week between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, where Washington’s restrictions on China’s access to advanced chips are expected to be a key topic.
Chang, who was born in mainland China and grew up in Taiwan, returned to the mainland and founded SMIC in 2000 after a 20-year career at Texas Instruments in the US. He resigned as SMIC’s CEO in 2009 amid a years-long trade secrets lawsuit and an out-of-court settlement with rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

“Many people think competition in the semiconductor industry is just about advanced nodes and that we will only achieve success when reaching 3nm [nanometre] or 2nm – this is a cognitive misunderstanding,” Chang said.
Rather than going head-to-head with global chip giants, he suggested domestic start-ups focus on distributed “edge AI” applications and foundational components like 3D silicon capacitors.
“It is a more pragmatic and valuable path to achieve breakthroughs by focusing on cultivating the missing links and niche markets in the domestic semiconductor industry,” he added.
Chang also warned of a looming shortage of engineers in Chinese fabs, calling it a key bottleneck for the country’s chip self-sufficiency ambitions.
“No matter how good the chip design or how advanced the production equipment, without top-notch frontline craftsmen to implement it, it is impossible to achieve stable yields and reliable product performance,” he said.
His remarks echoed Huawei Technologies founder Ren Zhengfei, who has similarly argued that survival under US tech restrictions would depend not only on leaps in advanced nodes, but also on leveraging foundational manufacturing.
In an interview with state-run newspaper People’s Daily published last June, Ren said that by using methods like “stacking and clustering”, China could still achieve computing results comparable to the world’s most advanced systems.
Shanghai-based SMIC, meanwhile, was reportedly still having difficulty advancing its process nodes beyond 5nm, amid ongoing US export controls on imports of advanced chipmaking equipment.


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Richard Chang’s rare public remarks highlight importance of mature chips to China’s supply chain security


Richard Chang’s rare public remarks highlight importance of mature chips to China’s supply chain security.


Chinese chip pioneer calls for focus on ‘pragmatic breakthroughs’ over chasing 2nm hype

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Richard Chang’s rare public remarks highlight importance of mature chips to China’s supply chain security

Richard Chang’s rare public remarks highlight importance of mature chips to China’s supply chain security