As the domestic leader in wafer foundry services, SMIC serves as the core force behind China’s R&D of advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology. It continuously invests in the R&D and industrialization of cutting-edge process technology, propelling the domestic semiconductor industrial chain toward self-sufficiency and high-end upgrading, and stands as a critical driver of China’s leap from mature to advanced manufacturing processes.
Global competition in high-end semiconductor nodes is heating up, with advanced processes the primary strategic focus for all leading firms. Overseas players have realized mass production or capacity planning for state-of-the-art technologies. Intel’s 18A process, its most advanced manufacturing node to date, entered large-scale mass production at its Arizona and Oregon fabs by late 2025, alongside the launch of its first AI PC computing platform built on this process. However, yield levels for 18A have not yet reached industry-leading standards, and buffer inventories were depleted in Q1 2026, sending supply volumes to a bottom. Intel is ramping yield improvement efforts and plans to further expand commercial adoption of the 18A process throughout 2026.
TSMC concentrates on iterative upgrades for 2nm and below advanced nodes. Its 2nm A16 process faces severe capacity shortages driven by robust demand from AI and high-speed computing sectors, with customer order backlogs stretching beyond 2028, cementing its dominant grip over the global high-end wafer foundry market.
While overseas corporations dominate global advanced node development, China’s semiconductor industry speeds up R&D breakthroughs for cutting-edge processes while pushing coordinated development of upstream and downstream segments including materials. The domestic semiconductor equipment sector gradually shifts focus from mature nodes to advanced process development, with localized R&D progressing steadily in core links including lithography and etching,
laying a solid supply chain foundation for domestic research and industrialization of advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes.
