Original Title: Notice on the Issuance of the “Qingpu District Action Plan for Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Integrated Circuit Industry (2023–2025)”
To all Town People’s Governments, Subdistrict Offices, District Government Commissions, Offices, and Bureaus, and all relevant units:
With the approval of the District Government, we hereby issue the “Qingpu District Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of the Integrated Circuit Industry (2023–2025)” to you. Please implement it conscientiously.
Office of the People’s Government of Qingpu District, Shanghai
April 27, 2023
Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of the Integrated Circuit Industry in Qingpu District (2023–2025)
To promote the high-quality development of the integrated circuit industry in this district, this Action Plan is formulated in accordance with the “14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Strategic Emerging Industries and Pioneer Industries in Shanghai” and the “Outline of the Development Plan for the Yangtze River Delta Digital Backbone,” and in light of the actual conditions of this district.
I. Guiding Principles
Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, this plan leverages Qingpu District’s industrial layout for the accelerated construction of the Yangtze River Delta Digital Backbone. It fully utilizes the strategic advantages of the Yangtze River Delta Integration Demonstration Zone and relies on leading enterprises such as Huawei HiSilicon to continuously enhance industrial capabilities and address weaknesses in the industrial chain. By fully leveraging the leading role of the integrated circuit industry as a pioneer sector and achieving integrated industrial development, Qingpu will be built into a key R&D, design, and manufacturing base for Shanghai’s integrated circuit industry.
II. Overall Objectives
(1) Industry Scale
By 2025, the revenue of the integrated circuit industry will maintain an average annual growth rate of approximately 15%, reaching 35 billion yuan, with a target of 38 billion yuan.The output value of the integrated circuit manufacturing sector will maintain an average annual growth rate of approximately 10%, reaching 6.5 billion yuan. We aim to achieve the listing of 1–2 new integrated circuit companies, cultivate 1 integrated circuit enterprise with main business revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan, 5 integrated circuit enterprises with revenue exceeding 500 million yuan, and 3 integrated circuit manufacturing enterprises with an output value of over 1 billion yuan.
(2) Innovation Capacity
The cumulative number of “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” SMEs in the integrated circuit sector will reach 20, with high-tech enterprises totaling 30 and municipal-level enterprise technology centers reaching 20. The industry will secure 200 new invention patents, and the sector will attract 5,000 new professionals.By 2025, an innovation system led by integrated circuit design will be established, with chip design capabilities reaching internationally leading levels; simultaneously, the localization rate of core equipment and key materials will be further improved, and technological breakthroughs will be achieved in areas such as memory chips below 28nm, 12-inch silicon wafers, packaging and testing equipment, and photoresists.
III. Main Tasks
(1) Enhance the Level of Key Industries and Create New Growth Points in Niche Sectors
1. Focus on developing three key industries. In line with the city’s integrated circuit industry layout and the Qingpu District Advanced Manufacturing 14th Five-Year Plan, and building on Qingpu’s industrial foundation and areas of strength, we will develop three key integrated circuit industries: First, the integrated circuit design industry. Led by leading enterprises and leveraging existing memory chip companies in the West Hongqiao Business District and the Shanghai West Software and Information Park, we will prioritize the development of chip design industries such as 5G/6G communications and memory chips;Second, the packaging and testing industry: support the enhancement of advanced packaging and testing technologies as well as equipment manufacturing capabilities; Third, the integrated circuit raw materials and equipment industry: relying on leading enterprises, support the R&D and production of large-size silicon wafers, high-end printed circuit boards, and testing equipment; prioritize support for corporate technological innovation and technical upgrades; simultaneously target cutting-edge fields such as third-generation compound semiconductor materials, strengthen investment promotion efforts, and further expand the scale of the industry.(Responsible Units: District Economic Commission, District Science and Technology Commission, relevant sub-districts and towns, and district-affiliated companies, etc.)
Column 1: Key Development Sectors in the Integrated Circuit Industry
(1) Integrated Circuit Design Industry. Support enterprises in fields such as next-generation communication technologies, Beidou satellite navigation, digital multimedia, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and memory chips to conduct chip R&D. Focusing on application areas such as 5G, new energy vehicles, mobile smart terminals, memory devices, smart sensors, and the IoT, introduce and cultivate a group of leading integrated circuit design enterprises with independent intellectual property rights; rely on leading enterprises to further strengthen the development of domestic EDA platforms; leverage the demand-driven role of application enterprises to guide them in fostering and developing local suppliers.
(2) Packaging and Testing Industry. Guide local enterprises to strengthen technological R&D and innovation in areas such as system-level packaging, chip-level packaging, wafer-level packaging, and semiconductor device-level packaging. By accelerating the establishment of leading enterprises, create hubs of talent and technology to attract the clustering of upstream and downstream enterprises along the industrial chain, and encourage packaging and testing enterprises to expand into design and high-end equipment segments of the industrial chain.
(3) Integrated Circuit Raw Materials and Equipment Industry. Encourage local enterprises to seize market opportunities and enhance production efficiency and scale through technological upgrades. Support the development of projects involving large-size silicon wafers, high-end equipment, and third-generation compound semiconductor materials.
2. Strengthen the cultivation and introduction of enterprises in specialized sectors. Cultivate a group of innovative enterprises leading the digital transformation of the economy, closely track development trends in the integrated circuit industry, identify the unique strengths of our district’s enterprises in various specialized sectors, and further explore new opportunities for industrial development. For example: In the chip design sector, focus on memory chips and RF chips for navigation, Bluetooth, and other applications to cultivate and attract a group of “single-champions” and “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” enterprises with independent intellectual property rights and industry influence;In the raw materials sector, focus on areas such as photoresists; leveraging the development of our district’s new materials industry, support relevant local small and medium-sized innovative enterprises to grow and strengthen their operations through measures such as attracting strategic investments. (Responsible Units: District Economic Commission, District Science and Technology Commission, relevant sub-districts and towns, and district-affiliated companies, etc.)
(2) Optimize Industrial Layout and Ensure Land Supply Capacity
3. Deepen industrial planning and layout. Centered on the construction of the Yangtze River Delta Digital Backbone in our district, we will establish Qingpu District’s “1 Core + 1 Base + 2 Zones” integrated circuit industry layout: “1 Core” refers to one core industrial innovation hub, namely the Xicen Science and Technology Innovation Center; “1 Base” refers to one integrated circuit manufacturing base, namely the Qingpu Industrial Park;“2 Zones” refers to two key industrial development areas, namely the West Hongqiao Business District and the Shixi Software and Information Park. (Responsible Units: District Economic Commission, District Development and Reform Commission, District Science and Technology Commission, District Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, relevant sub-districts and towns, and district-affiliated companies, etc.)
Column 2 Integrated Circuit Industry Layout
(1) “One Core”: Xicen Science and Technology Innovation Center
Located in the Pilot Zone of the Demonstration Area, the Xicun Science and Technology Innovation Center, with the Huawei R&D Center as its core project, will serve as a key hub for Shanghai’s efforts to build a science and technology innovation center with global influence and for Qingpu’s development of the Yangtze River Delta Digital Backbone. The Huawei R&D Center project covers approximately 2,400 mu (about 160 hectares) with a total investment of 40 billion yuan. It will prioritize R&D in terminal chips, wireless networks, and the Internet of Things (IoT), and plans to attract 30,000 R&D professionals to establish a world-class R&D base.Centered around the Huawei R&D Center, the Xicen Science and Technology Innovation Center will develop a comprehensive industrial innovation zone integrating scientific research, commercial services, and community living. It aims to become a model for world-class science and technology innovation towns, a hub for talent value within the Demonstration Zone, and a green, shared community exemplifying the “New Jiangnan” concept. Driven and supported by leading enterprises, the Xicen Science and Technology Innovation Center will be developed into the core innovation hub for Qingpu District’s integrated circuit industry.
(2) “1 Base”: Qingpu Industrial Park
The Qingpu Industrial Park serves as the main hub for Qingpu District’s manufacturing sector and is a major cluster for the district’s integrated circuit manufacturing enterprises. The park features comprehensive infrastructure and strong industrial support capabilities, with a solid industrial foundation in areas such as wafer manufacturing, packaging and testing, and equipment manufacturing. Leveraging the development of Qingpu New City, the Qingpu Industrial Park will focus on advancing high-end intelligent manufacturing and will serve as the most important platform for Qingpu District’s integrated circuit and electronic information manufacturing industries.
(3) “2 Zones”: West Hongqiao Business District and ShiXi Software and Information Park
The West Hongqiao Business District enjoys a superior geographical location and benefits from the policy incentives of the Greater Zhangjiang and Greater Hongqiao areas.The Beidou West Hongqiao Base within the business district has formed a distinctive industrial cluster for Beidou navigation and location services (a National Torch Base), generating significant spillover effects. Adjacent to the Huaxin Smart Logistics Industrial Base (also a National Torch Base), this area serves as a hub for headquarters and R&D enterprises in Qingpu District. With its strong appeal to talent, it is well-suited for attracting renowned domestic and international companies to establish headquarters. Additionally, the abundance of back-end application scenarios can drive innovation and R&D within the region’s integrated circuit industry.
The Shanghai West Software and Information Park was incorporated into Shanghai’s “One Center, Four Sectors” strategic layout for the software and information industry in 2017 and designated as a major municipal project by the Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology in 2019. Currently, leading enterprises such as Jingce, Huishi, and Dongxin Semiconductor have established operations there. Through the development of the Shanghai West Software and Information Park, the advancement of new digital infrastructure will be accelerated, and its industrial chain advantages will gradually emerge.
4. Ensure the supply of industrial land. Accelerate the construction of industrial bases and clusters, and improve supporting infrastructure; strengthen the coordinated planning of industrial land use, expand the supply of land for advanced manufacturing, and ensure sufficient development space for the integrated circuit manufacturing sector; intensify efforts to acquire and reserve industrial land, focusing on the acquisition or redevelopment of contiguous undeveloped land and underutilized existing land to reserve land resources for high-quality projects;continue to explore mechanisms for park developers to build custom-designed factory buildings, constructing facilities of various types and scales to meet the needs of integrated circuit manufacturing enterprises. (Responsible Units: District Economic Commission, District Development and Reform Commission, District Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, relevant sub-districts and towns, and district-affiliated companies, etc.)
(3) Focus on Attracting and Cultivating Entities, and Leverage the Leading Role of Key Enterprises
5. Enhance the Competitiveness of the Integrated Circuit Manufacturing Industry. First, leveraging leading enterprises and with the integrated circuit design sector as the vanguard, strengthen investment promotion in the manufacturing segment of the industrial chain; attract enterprises specializing in high-end materials and key equipment; and support the development of production projects such as large-size silicon wafers and packaging and testing equipment manufacturing. Second, encourage competitive local enterprises to undertake acquisitions, mergers, and reorganizations within the industrial chain, and adopt forms such as outsourcing to expand their scale. Third, further strengthen support for the development factors of manufacturing enterprises, and track and accelerate the implementation of projects.(Responsible Units: District Economic Commission, District Development and Reform Commission, District Science and Technology Commission, District Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, District Market Regulation Bureau, relevant sub-districts and towns, and district-affiliated companies, etc.)
6. Strengthen investment promotion targeting industrial chains. Focus on enterprises across the upstream and downstream segments of the integrated circuit (IC) industry chain; enhance exchanges and cooperation with IC industry associations and leading enterprises; strengthen the synergy between on-site investment promotion and registration-based investment promotion; fully mobilize the initiative of economic zones and other investment promotion agencies; leverage the resource and information advantages of existing enterprises within the industry chain; and identify high-quality enterprises and investment targets.Target industry professionals, strengthen talent policy support, build industry networks, adopt diversified investment promotion methods, and implement targeted investment promotion in more specialized sectors to achieve the dual synergy of attracting both talent and industry. (Responsible Units: District Economic Commission, District Science and Technology Commission, District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, relevant sub-districts and towns, and district-affiliated companies, etc.)
Column 3: Pathways for Integrated Circuit Investment Promotion
(1) Center on leading enterprises. Target key upstream and downstream suppliers and customers within the industrial chains of leading enterprises, encouraging these enterprises to play a leading role and achieve “investment attraction through existing businesses.”
(2) Focus on niche sectors within the industry and the latest technological innovations, targeting potential leading enterprises such as “Specialized, Refined, Unique, and New” (SRUN) firms and “Tech Small Giants,” and attracting “hidden champions” in these niche sectors.
(3) Implement “list-based investment promotion” by focusing on lists of enterprises prioritized by industry leaders and investment institutions. Encourage leading domestic and international enterprises to establish headquarters, R&D centers, and production bases in Qingdao, and provide policy support to high-growth enterprises through a “case-by-case” approach.
(4) Accelerate the implementation of major projects. Prioritize investment promotion for major projects; following the “one policy per enterprise” principle, assist in securing land quotas and coordinating municipal-level pollutant emission quotas; establish a green channel for key project implementation; improve approval efficiency; and shorten the time to production.
(5) Promote “dual recruitment and dual attraction.” Prioritize both investment attraction and talent recruitment, strengthen talent recruitment mechanisms, and attract a cohort of innovative and entrepreneurial talent as well as high-end R&D talent from both domestic and international integrated circuit sectors; support leading enterprises in collaborating with universities and research institutes to jointly establish integrated circuit practical training bases. Vigorously cultivate and train high-level, urgently needed, and core professional technical talent in the integrated circuit sector.
(IV) Strengthen Industry Collaboration to Promote Cooperative Development Within and Across Sectors
7. Strengthen the driving force of application demand. Leveraging the strong application demand across the region in advantageous fields such as artificial intelligence, high-end equipment, smart logistics, and spatial information, encourage key application enterprises to collaborate with chip design firms on chip design and R&D, and jointly establish high-level R&D centers, production centers, and operational centers.Strengthen cross-industry exchanges and cooperation, enhance demand alignment, and encourage capital investment from downstream application enterprises to drive the R&D and testing of key core technologies. Break through a number of “bottleneck” and cutting-edge core technologies, accelerate the local conversion of innovation outcomes into productive capacity, and improve R&D efficiency. (Responsible Units: District Economic Commission, District Development and Reform Commission, District Science and Technology Commission, District Commerce Commission, relevant sub-districts and towns, and district-affiliated companies, etc.)
8. Support platform development and corporate collaboration. Support cooperation between enterprises, universities, and research institutions; strengthen the leading role of flagship enterprises; and enhance capabilities in providing common technical services in areas such as high-speed packaging, testing and verification, failure analysis and reliability evaluation, technology commercialization, and intellectual property. Encourage and support flagship enterprises in organizing various high-level academic conferences, forums, and other industry events; actively expand channels for cooperation with advanced technologies and industrial chains both domestically and internationally; and attract high-quality project resources to settle in the district.(Responsible Units: District Economic Commission, District Science and Technology Commission, District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, relevant sub-districts and towns, and district-affiliated companies, etc.)
Column 4: Promoting Collaborative Development in the Integrated Circuit Industry
(1) Establish application channels between different industries. Driven by application scenarios, promote the alignment of products and projects across various industrial chains, integrate different platforms and enterprises, and effectively drive product innovation and the implementation of applications.
(2) Encourage leading and key integrated circuit enterprises to pursue vertical integration within the industrial chain. Support their upstream and downstream investments or mergers and acquisitions to improve the industrial ecosystem.
(3) Improve the industrial investment and financing environment. Actively seek financial support from national and municipal integrated circuit industry funds; strengthen industry-finance integration, fully leverage the benefits of being a national pilot city for industry-finance cooperation, promote the concentration and prioritization of financial resources, guide and encourage private capital to invest in integrated circuit enterprises, and support financial institutions in providing financing guarantee services to eligible integrated circuit enterprises; encourage and support integrated circuit enterprises to raise capital through domestic and international listings.
(5) Strengthen Incentive Measures to Ensure the Recruitment of High-Quality Talent
9. Strengthen market-oriented talent recruitment. Fully leverage the role of market regulation to encourage broad participation by social forces in the referral of high-level talent. Prioritize support for the integrated circuit industry in recruiting frontline R&D personnel, key engineering and technical staff, and mid-to-senior management personnel, and provide different rewards to referring units or individuals based on different categories and levels. (Responsible Units: District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, District Economic Commission, District Development and Reform Commission, District Science and Technology Commission, relevant sub-districts and towns, and district-affiliated companies, etc.)
10. Strengthen efforts to attract international talent back to the region. Further intensify efforts to recruit high-level talent from overseas, support overseas students in innovation and entrepreneurship, and prioritize high-quality overseas innovation and entrepreneurship projects as well as high-level experts, scholars, and technical personnel; establish overseas talent liaison mechanisms among relevant units such as sub-districts, district-level companies, and economic zones to bridge the “last mile” in serving overseas talent.(Responsible Units: District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, District Economic Commission, District Development and Reform Commission, District Science and Technology Commission, relevant sub-districts and towns, and district-affiliated companies, etc.)
IV. Support Measures
(1) Strengthen Organizational Leadership and Foster Interdepartmental Synergy
Establish a coordination mechanism for the integrated circuit industry’s development to strengthen guidance, organization, and coordination. Led by the Deputy District Head in charge, the competent industry authority will be responsible for coordinating all responsible units, establishing sound coordination and deliberation mechanisms, advancing key projects, resolving bottlenecks encountered in industrial development, and accelerating the industry’s growth in a coordinated manner.
(2) Clarify Objectives and Strengthen Performance Evaluation
All units shall fulfill their respective duties, enhance collaboration, and jointly complete the key tasks outlined in the action plan; focus on the overall objectives, implement annual performance indicators, and incorporate metrics such as investment promotion, innovation, and output in the integrated circuit industry into annual work tasks to promote the development level and innovation capacity of the integrated circuit cluster.
(3) Optimize Enterprise Services and Improve the Investment Environment
Strengthen institutional innovation and digital empowerment to build an efficient government service system; enhance staff training, further deepen the development of the service specialist system, and reinforce accountability; tailored to industry characteristics, further enhance service awareness and improve service standards in areas such as intellectual property, talent recruitment, investment and financing matching, and industry-academia-research collaboration.
(4) Refine Industrial Policies and Increase Support
Optimize the district’s special support policies for strategic emerging industries and formulate specific support policies to promote the high-quality development of Qingpu District’s integrated circuit industry. Provide policy support across multiple areas, including matching funds from higher-level support programs, EDA software procurement and R&D, IP acquisition, testing and verification, scaled development, support for business establishment and property leasing/purchase/construction, and technological upgrades. Integrate these efforts with industrial policies related to corporate restructuring and listing, technological innovation, intellectual property, and quality and branding to establish a competitive policy framework for the integrated circuit industry.
