IC CHINA 2024: The 21st China International Semiconductor Expo Kicks Off

The 21st China International Semiconductor Expo (IC CHINA 2024) is being held from November 18–20 at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. The event showcases the entire semiconductor industry chain, including IC design, manufacturing, packaging, testing, equipment, and materials. It also highlights key applications in 5G, industrial IoT, artificial intelligence, smart connected vehicles, and new display technologies. Participating companies are unveiling cutting-edge products, technologies, and applications.  

This year's expo features eight major exhibition zones: Industry Chain, Regional Innovations, Compound Semiconductors, Emerging Applications, Semiconductor Services, Industry-Academia Collaboration, International Networking, and Future Industries. These zones comprehensively cover critical industry segments and cutting-edge trends.  

On November 18, under the theme "Empowering Innovation, Shaping the Future" the expo officially opened at the China National Convention Center. During the opening ceremony, Dato' Seri Wong Swee Keong, President of the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association, proposed establishing joint R&D centers between China, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia to advance AI chips, low-power designs, 5G, and IoT technologies. He emphasized the importance of building a robust regional semiconductor supply chain to enhance resilience and security while focusing on automotive-grade semiconductors and electric vehicle (EV) technologies, including power management, battery systems, and ADAS, to meet growing market demands.  

Ahn Ki-hyun, Executive Vice President of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, remarked that China-South Korea semiconductor trade is projected to grow further in 2024, potentially reaching $68.8 billion. However, he noted that the increasing instability in the global semiconductor supply chain, influenced by complex factors, poses a significant challenge. He stressed that semiconductors are the cornerstone of electronic products, and maintaining stable supply chains is essential to prevent disruptions that could damage the industry's reputation. He called for enhanced international cooperation to address these challenges.  

Wang Ruoda, a senior expert from the China Semiconductor Industry Association, stated at the China International Semiconductor Expo 2024 that over the past 35 years, the global semiconductor market size has increased nearly 20 times, with an average annual growth rate of 9%. Wang Ruoda predicts that by 2030, the global semiconductor market size is expected to grow to 1 trillion US dollars, with a compound annual growth rate reaching 8%. In the stock markets such as mobile phones and servers, the value of semiconductors has been continuously increasing. Emerging markets like artificial intelligence, 5G/6G, and intelligent vehicles have become the main driving forces for the growth of semiconductor market demand.

Later that afternoon, the *Global IC Entrepreneurs Summit*, themed "AI Empowerment, Driving the Future of Semiconductors" featured keynote speeches from prominent companies including Huawei, Micron Technology, Loongson, AMD, Qualcomm, and Black Sesame.

Market Insights and Trends  

China is currently the world's second-largest market for semiconductor materials, with a market size of $13.085 billion in 2023, representing a 0.89% year-on-year growth and accounting for 19.61% of the global market, up 1.77 percentage points. However, the semiconductor materials market remains dominated by Japanese firms, particularly in key areas like silicon wafers, photomasks, photoresists, targets, and epoxy molding compounds. Domestic production still lags, leaving significant room for import substitution.  

For semiconductor equipment companies, third-quarter 2024 revenue grew by 34.4% year-on-year, with a gross margin of 44.6%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points. The semiconductor components sector saw even higher revenue growth at 39.7% year-on-year, driven by improved capacity utilization rates. Gross margins in this segment remained steady at 28.7%. Notably, expanding downstream wafer fab capacities have significantly boosted revenue in the integrated circuit materials sector, with gross margins showing slight sequential improvement.  

Robust Demand for Semiconductor Equipment  

In the first three quarters of 2024, China imported $23 billion worth of major semiconductor manufacturing equipment, a 31% year-on-year increase. Demand for core technologies like photolithography equipment remains robust, fueled by ongoing construction of wafer fabs across the country. Globally, the packaging equipment market is also rebounding, with advanced packaging equipment sales expected to grow over 10% in 2024 and surpass 20% growth in 2025. While leading international equipment companies dominate this segment, Chinese domestic firms, having entered the packaging field relatively late, still have significant room for growth.  

Analysts predict stable fourth-quarter performance, signaling that the semiconductor industry may be entering a peak season.