Political advisers advocate strengthening chip design and assembly sectors

Shanghai should strengthen innovations in the chip design and assembly and testing sector to enhance the integrated circuit industry chain and break strict tech sanctions, CPPCC Shanghai members said in a proposal during its ongoing annual session.

China should form independent and controllable EDA (Electronic Design Automation) product series "as soon as possible." Shanghai and China should encourage the procurement and use of local EDA products, a standard architecture and software for industrial design covering chip design, said a proposal from the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Meanwhile, Shanghai should draft an independent development blueprint for integrated circuit materials, equipment and assembly and testing, covering innovations such as Chiplet assembly, it said.

Chips are widely used in smartphones, consumer electronics, cars and the industrial Internet. It's now regarded as a strategy industry representing a national tech innovation development.

Shanghai has set chips as one of three strategic industries to develop along with AI and bio-medicine. Shanghai has a leading chipmaking industry nationwide with wafer plants constructed by SMIC and Huahong.

Currently, the US tech sanctions have expanded from chipmaking equipment to wide ranges covering design tool EDA. It forces firms in Shanghai and China to establish an independent industry chain, industry insiders said.

Shanghai should also implement major talent projects to attract top global experts and teams, accelerate the cultivation of scientists, increase the commendation and rewards for chip talent. The city can also encourage "order-based" education and "customized" cultivation to enable talent to quickly master theoretical knowledge and practical experience, the CPPCC proposal suggests.