The 2023 World Semiconductor Conference & Nanjing International Semiconductor Expo (WSCE 2023) opened in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province on July 20, attracting experts and enterprise representatives from home and abroad to explore the sector's development against the backdrop of complicated international situations.

(CFP Photo)

"The global semiconductor industry has entered a downturn with sales revenue dropping further. In the first quarter of this year, the combined revenue of memory chips and microprocessors fell by 19%, of which the decline in memory chips was as high as 44%," said Yu Xiekang, vice president of China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA).

Yu also said the global economy is slowing and the weak demand for electronic products in the end market is now affecting companies in the sector. Meanwhile, investment environment has become uncertain, and the supply chain is undergoing changes due to geopolitical influences.

According to Yu, however, the rapid growth of the domestic market provides opportunities to optimize and upgrade China's semiconductor industry. Yu mentioned that the compound growth rate of the country's semiconductor industry market in the past three years reached 7.6%. Preliminary data of the CSIA also shows that the IC industry in the first quarter of this year saw sales of 205.36 billion yuan, which is about the same compared to one year ago.

Li Ke, vice president of CCID Consulting, said the global semiconductor market is expected to rebound to a double-digit growth rate in 2024 and estimated to exceed $1 trillion in 2030.

Jiangsu, as an important national hub of semiconductor production, stands out for its strong development momentum, and the IC industry has led the nation for many years in a row. In 2022, the province's IC industry achieved a revenue of 414.3 billion yuan, an increase of 17.5% year-on-year. Jiangsu has formed a complete IC industry chain encompassing design, manufacturing, packaging and testing.