On 28 January 2021, MIIT solicited public comments for the establishment of National Integrated Circuit Standardization Technical Committee (hereinafter referred to as New TC). The deadline for submitting comments is 27 February, 2021.

According to the notice for public comments, the secretariat of the New TC will be in CESI (China Electronics Standardization Institute). It will be in charge of the research, development, and revision of standards for integrated circuit, including integrated circuit materials and equipment, semiconductor integrated circuit, film integrated circuit and hybrid film integrated circuit, microwave integrated circuit, integrated circuit module, integrated circuit chip, IP core, and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). Its work ranges from providing national standards and sector standards involved in the design, research and development, and production and application in the above-mentioned fields, to offering support for other standardization technical committees and technical organizations on developing integrated circuit standards of relevant products and sectors. Internationally, the New TC will mirror IEC/TC47/SC47A integrated circuit, SC47D packaging, SC47F MEMS.

The New TC is expanded from SAC/TC78/SC2 (semiconductor integrated circuits, mirroring IEC/SC47A), which took charge of national integrated circuit standardization before. Members in the New TC, including former members, have increased by several times. It has 90 entities, such as research institutes, colleges and universities, industry associations, and user units. The 90 entities cover the whole integrated circuit industry chain, including materials and equipment, design and manufacturing, packaging and testing, and products and applications of integrated circuit. From the list of the members given in the notice, China’s enterprises (organisations) comprise major part of all the members, such as SMIC, Huawei Technologies Co and its chip design unit HiSilicon, and Harbin Institute of Technology, etc. Foreign enterprises account for a small proportion. (These include the joint ventures like Senodia, ACM Research, and Sgmicro, and wholly foreign-owned enterprises like Silergy and Vimicro).

This New TC was established under the uncertainties and concerns of potential risks and blocks of China’s participation in international standardization activities in integrated circuit. MIIT tried to optimize and strengthen its national standardization work in integrated circuit to support domestical semiconductor industry. It took the lead to set up the New TC, so as to integrate all national standardization groups of integrated circuit and tap into their full potential.

MIIT hopes the New TC will put national integrated circuit industry chain on one single platform, which can help China establish a complete internal supply chain, and thus be independent of foreign advanced technologies.

In addition, this New TC will strengthen China’s development of integrated circuit standards, especially standards in key technological fields, such as AI, 5G, and IoT. It is strongly encouraged that European enterprises should offer their opinions actively and participate in the standardization work of this New TC. The harmonization of China’s standards with international standards can secure the harmonized global supply chain and facilitate the international trade.

Background

In June 2014, the State Council issued “Outline for the Development of National Integrated Circuit Industry”, emphasizing the development of standards in major innovative areas of integrated circuit to give full play of technical standards. In 2020, it issued Several Policies to “Promote the High-Quality Development of Integrated Circuit Industry and Software Industry in the New Era”, further strengthening the establishment of integrated circuit standardization organization to improve the standard system.

In last 2-3 years, the global political situation had dramatically changed, and US-China trade tension made China feel the threats of losing the supply of integrated circuit. Those made China tried ever harder on developing its own integrated circuit industry, then stanadrds.

On the standardization working level, the standards of integrated circuit in China used to be done by SAC/TC78/SC2 (National Semiconductor Device Standardization Technical Committee) for a long time. CESI, however, believed that the SAC/TC78/SC2 could not meet the requirements of the development of national standards. Therefore, CESI put forward the establishment of the New TC.

 

Source (in Chinese language): https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/wjgs/art/2021/art_c1b77f7f003143e5a44ed36bc60a7b8c.html