Tech war: Shenzhen semiconductor expo shows China’s progress in tech self-reliance

Chinese semiconductor companies, part of the more than 600 exhibitors at an industry event in Shenzhen this week, unveiled an array of advanced products that appear to bolster the country’s broad push towards tech self-reliance.

At the three-day WeSemiBay Semiconductor Ecosystem Expo 2025, which concludes on Friday, Shenzhen municipal government-backed SiCarrier, which is known to work with Huawei Technologies, drew much attention when the chip equipment maker presented more than a dozen products. These included optical inspection systems, physical and X-ray measurement tools, etching and diffusion products and thin-film deposition machines.

A supplier to Huawei, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and other domestic research institutions, Longsight showed China’s ability to build advanced testing equipment for the country’s semiconductor supply chain. Before Longsight’s new product, Chinese firms typically supplied low-end oscilloscopes in the 8 to 18GHz range. Longsight also showcased its digital network testing, high-frequency chip testing and ultra-wideband optoelectronic connection testing systems at the show.

Importing high-bandwidth oscilloscopes – devices that measure extremely fast electrical signals – with more than 60GHz bandwidth would require an export licence from the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security under current regulations.

Another SiCarrier subsidiary, Qiyunfang, launched new electronic design automation software tools, one for schematic capture and another for printed circuit board design.