Hua Hong 7nm chip production is emerging as a major development in China’s drive for semiconductor self-sufficiency. Hua Hong Group’s contract chipmaking arm, Huali Microelectronics, is preparing a 7-nanometre process at its Shanghai plant, a move that would make Hua Hong the country’s second chipmaker with that level of technology after SMIC.
China’s push comes as Beijing continues to encourage the use of domestic alternatives, even after some US export controls were eased and Nvidia was allowed to sell its second-most-powerful AI chips to China. Reuters reported that Hua Hong’s 7nm process development had not been previously disclosed.
Hua Hong 7nm Chip Production and China’s AI Ambitions
The reported breakthrough matters because Hua Hong is China’s second-largest chipmaker, while SMIC is currently the only domestic producer known to be capable of manufacturing 7nm chips. If Huali successfully scales this process, China would deepen its domestic manufacturing base for advanced chips that support AI applications.
Reuters reported that Huawei has been collaborating with Hua Hong on the 7nm technologies, although Hua Hong Group, Huali, Hua Hong Semiconductor and Huawei did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters also said it could not determine how Hua Hong had acquired the capability, what production efficiency it had achieved, or which major equipment suppliers were involved.
Business Standard stated that research and development on 7nm chips at Hua Hong Fab 6 began last year. domestic equipment suppliers, including Huawei-backed SiCarrier, supported the effort and tested equipment at a Shenzhen facility last year.
Huali plans to achieve an initial production capacity of a few thousand wafers per month by the end of the year, with expansion planned later. It also says Chinese GPU designer Biren is using Huali’s 7nm line for tape-out, the stage when a design is committed to a physical prototype before mass production.
What Hua Hong Fab 6 currently makes
Hua Hong Fab 6 is described on Huali’s website as a Shanghai facility offering 28nm and 22nm process technologies with a design capacity of 40,000 wafers per month. Fab 6 is the most advanced of seven foundries within the Hua Hong Group and currently produces logic chips at 22nm and 28nm, while Fab 5 focuses on more mature technologies ranging from 40nm to 55nm.
Read: China Advanced Chip Production Boost Targets 100,000 Wafers Amid AI Surge
The development followed Hua Hong Semiconductor’s December announcement that it planned to acquire a controlling stake in Huali and raise 7.56 billion yuan, or about $1.10 billion, for upgrades and research at the foundry.
