Guangdong moves to close chip manufacturing gap with expanded production, homegrown design tools

South China's Guangdong Province is stepping up its efforts to make up for the manufacturing shortfall in its chip industry by expanding production capacity and developing homegrown design tools, shifting from a design-driven model to one supported by both design and manufacturing.

In a production workshop in Nansha District, Guangzhou City, a silicon carbide chip line is running close to full capacity. Silicon carbide chips are third-generation semiconductor power devices that can withstand higher temperatures and voltages while consuming far less power than traditional silicon chips.

The project is a flagship of Guangdong's "Qiangxin" (Strong Chip) initiative to reinforce the manufacturing link of the chip supply chain. With total investment of about 10 billion yuan (1.49 U.S. dollars), it is planned to reach annual capacity of 240,000 six-inch and 240,000 eight-inch silicon carbide wafers.

The company has now completed a full-range process platform, with products covering new energy vehicles, AI data centers, photovoltaics and energy storage, and consumer electronics.

"Our devices have been validated across the 400-volt and 800-volt platforms used in new energy vehicles today, and even in higher-voltage scenarios of 900 volts or 1,000 volts, and they are already being installed in vehicles in volume," said Xu Wei, president of Guangdong Ascenpower Semiconductors Co., Ltd.

Alongside production expansion, the province is also breaking the long-term overseas monopoly in EDA software, the fundamental design tool that directly supports manufacturing efficiency and technological progress.

A software company based in Shenzhen’s Longgang District has rebuilt core technologies from the ground up, gaining 100 percent independent control over underlying hardware resources, operating systems and business modules. Its self-developed EDA tool allows 100 engineers to work on circuit schematic design at the same time, cutting product launch cycles by more than 40 percent.

"Our software supports both on-premises and server-side deployment. Server-side deployment lets us make full use of server computing power to improve software performance, so 100 designers can work on schematics in parallel and shorten the whole product launch cycle," said Yuan Yi, head of the EDA division at Shenzhen Qiyunfang Technology Co., Ltd.

These advances are reshaping Guangdong's semiconductor industry, moving it beyond a system that relied almost entirely on design to one backed by both design expertise and solid manufacturing capacity.

Industry figures show that the push to upgrade the sector has delivered clear results, with Guangdong’s integrated circuit industry output exceeding 480 billion yuan in 2025.

"Shenzhen and Guangzhou are home to hundreds of AI chip design firms, and their biggest advantage is being close to the market. As 12-inch wafer manufacturing lines start production one after another, the local cooperation between manufacturing, packaging and testing is quickly gaining momentum," said Sun Rong, director of the Advanced Electronic Materials Institute at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"Focusing on key fields such as integrated circuits, new materials and industrial machine tools, we will further implement the 'Guangdong Strong Chip' project, as well as the chemical new materials and advanced equipment research program. We will plan and roll out more creative and pioneering measures, build and make good use of industrial innovation platforms such as national and provincial manufacturing innovation centers, and build Guangdong into an important source of independent innovation for China's manufacturing sector," said Zeng Jinze, director of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology.

Guangdong moves to close chip manufacturing gap with expanded production, homegrown design tools

High-quality tilapia raised in Maoming City of south China's Guangdong Province now has greater access to dinner tables across the Asia-Pacific, as China deepens trade ties with regional markets.

In Maoming, tilapia ponds cover more than 17,000 hectares, making the city one of the world's major tilapia production hubs.

The city has been developing its tilapia industry for more than six decades, building it into a sector now worth over 1.4 billion U.S. dollars across the entire supply chain. Its products are sold in more than 70 countries and regions, including markets throughout the Asia-Pacific.

Early in the morning, while mist still hangs over the ponds, fish farmers are already out hauling in the catch. "The workers arrived at the pond at around 05:30 this morning. There are 17 people here to pull in the net. There's quite a lot of fish in this net, about 75 tonnes. That's why it's taking longer to haul it in," said Chen Wenqiang, head of the Aquaculture Department of a local agricultural technology company.

Chen belongs to a new generation of aquaculture professionals who emphasize eco-friendly practices to further improve fish quality.

"Fish need beneficial bacteria to keep their digestive systems healthy. Good fish farming starts with good water, so [the pond] also needs probiotics for better water quality. That is why we add probiotics during the fish farming process to improve both the fish's gut health and water quality. This helps keep the fish healthier and enables us to use fewer or no chemical materials, which makes our fish safer to eat," he said.

China is the world's leading tilapia producer and exporter, and much of Maoming's harvest is destined for overseas markets. Once taken from the ponds, the fish are quickly transported to processing plants, where they are sorted, cleaned and filleted before being frozen for shipment.

The latest data shows the city exported 74,000 tonnes of tilapia in the first half of 2026, up more than 51 percent year on year.

The foundation of this large-scale industry lies in high-quality fish fry, whose quality determines growth speed, disease resistance and, ultimately, the quality of the final product that reaches consumers.

"We have been operating for 22 years. We have achieved leading technical capabilities in areas such as selective breeding, nutrition, and land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). Furthermore, we have brought together a team of world-class experts, and we currently hold a leading position in the market," said Cai Xingqi, general manager of a local fish fry breeding company.

Maoming's tilapia industry stands as a fine example of food trade between China and other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies. In the first three quarters of 2026, food trade between the two sides reached nearly 120 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for more than half of China's total food trade.

China’s tilapia ascends to dining tables of Asia-Pacific countries