China Tech - Thematic Research

China Tech - Thematic Research

Summary

This report tackles the issue of whether China-despite severe geographic, demographic, and economic constraints-will lead the world into the Fourth Industrial Revolution by 2030. It also assesses whether this will spawn a Beijing-centered global economic security zone dependent on Chinese technology and largely independent of the West. GlobalData concludes that China will succeed at both, with major implications for the global economic and political order.

This report also looks at the foundational technologies that will need to be advanced, converged, and widely deployed over the decade to birth and nurture the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Oil was the control point of the last century, and data will replace it in the 21st, fueling the algorithmic engines of the future. China will have more of this fuel than any other country.

Key Highlights

• China has embarked on an ambitious project to create a home-grown semiconductor supply chain that eliminates the need for US technology. This will likely take at least 15 years of work, although step changes in chip technology could shorten that. Under the 14th Five-Year Plan (from 2021 to 2025), $1.4 trillion is being invested in building an advanced digital infrastructure in China, with the lion’s share going to the semiconductor industry. The scale of the challenge is highlighted by the fact that while the likes of Huawei, Alibaba, Xiaomi, ByteDance, and Oppo are designing advanced proprietary chips based on 7nm widths and below, they still cannot do so without using US electronic design automation (EDA) software. Moreover, as fabless operations, they cannot farm out their production to Chinese foundries because no Chinese foundry can currently make chips involving lower than 14nm process technology, and even 14nm is only just scaling up now.
• Chinese interest in 6G wireless networking is the same as its interest in AI, quantum computing, space technologies, or even ocean bed exploration. The further development and deployment of 5G networks and, by the late decade, the creation of almost zero-latency 6G wireless networks that are 100 times faster are front and center of China’s Grand Strategy.
• China will launch at least three 5G satellite communications networks in the next two years. For now, the scene is dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink network, which is already selling receivers and subscriptions for its 5G internet service.

• This report provides an overview of the China Tech theme.
• It identifies the key trends impacting growth of the sector over the next two to five years.
• In includes a comprehensive overview of China's industries of the future, including markets such as semiconductors, 5G, robotics, consumer electronics, electric vehicles and energy storage, high-performance computing, space technology, biotechnology, alternative energy, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, smart cities, and internet platforms.
• The report also includes a timeline charting the development of the theme, and information on major mergers and acquisitions.

• As the great power competition increases between the US and China, the need to get ahead in the technologies of the future has never been of greater importance. Technologies such as AI, 5G, high-performance computing, robotics, and semiconductors are all industries within themselves but have the power to transform outcomes in almost every sector.
• This report looks at how things may play out for China in 14 of the key next-generation technology markets, providing invaluable insights for companies across industries.