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Shanghai trade group calls for acceleration of moves to attain greater self-sufficiency in auto chips

  • The Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Association and five other state-backed industrial agencies have signed a joint initiative on auto chips
  • Six groups will focus on advanced tech and key components in autos and related industries that are ‘vulnerable to foreign restrictions’

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Shanghai trade group calls for accelerated self-sufficiency drive for auto chips. Photo: SCMP
Lilian Zhang

A Shanghai semiconductor trade group has called on the domestic industry to accelerate development of key components for auto chips, in another step to achieve greater self-sufficiency amid US-China tech rivalry.

The Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Association and five other state-backed industrial agencies on Tuesday signed a joint initiative calling for partners to leverage their resources to “promote the collaborative innovation and the establishment of a reliable and efficient supply chain of electronic components” for the autos industry, according to a report by Shanghai state media outlet the Paper.

Under the initiative, which was announced at an auto industry summit held in Shanghai’s northwestern Jiading district, the city’s auto production hub, the six groups will initially focus on advanced technologies and key components in automobile and related industries that are “vulnerable to foreign restrictions and limitations”.

While China has topped the world in auto production and sales for 13 consecutive years and with demand for new energy vehicles continuing to rise, the country remains dependent on foreign suppliers for auto-related chips, with less than 5 per cent being self-sufficient in 2021, according to industry data.

Some Chinese carmakers were also forced to reduce or halt production after facing chip shortages due to Covid-19 disruptions in the past two years.

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