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

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

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An industry veteran has stressed the value of investing in mature nodes and specialty processes, which account for more than 80 per cent of global semiconductor demand. Photo: AFP

Ann Caoin Shanghai

Published: 7:30am, 12 May 2026Updated: 7:51am, 12 May 2026

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.

Rather than going head-to-head with global chip giants, Richard Chang suggests domestic start-ups focus on distributed “edge AI” applications. Photo: Weibo

“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.

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