Thanks to ongoing strong chip demand, the top-3 Taiwan-based foundries - TSMC, UMC and VIS - performed outstandingly in second-quarter 2021 and will see revenue climb further in the third quarter.

Second-quarter 2021 smartphone application processor (AP) shipments to China-based vendors amounted to 218 million units, up 3% quarter-over-quarter.

TSMC is currently in the lead in terms of process technology but Samsung Electronics has been gearing up on its related R&D, eyeing to catch up.

As the supply chain aggressively ramped up chip inventory in second-half 2020, IC assembly and test capacity utilization showed a major increase.

While there may be different views on the validity of Moore's Law, TSMC is confident that it can uphold Moore's Law as it makes smooth progress in advanced process technologies.

China's top-3 wafer foundries enjoyed an over 20% on-year growth in their combined revenues in 2020 and the amount is expected to increase further in 2021.

First-quarter 2021 smartphone AP shipments to China-based vendors amounted to 212 million units, maintaining a similar level to the prior quarter and soaring 56.9% from a year ago.

Taiwan's top-3 wafer foundries saw their combined revenues rise 2.2% from a quarter ago to reach a new high in the first quarter of 2021.

China's IC design industry enjoyed a 24% year-over-year growth in output value in 2020, reaching a record-breaking scale once again.

Fourth-quarter 2020 smartphone AP shipments to China-based vendors amounted to 211.6 million units, up 9.9% quarter-over-quarter and 7.7% year-over-year.

The top-3 foundries in Taiwan - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) and Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation (VIS), together generated a total of US$14.58 billion in revenues in fourth-quarter 2020.

China government has always attached great importance to advances of the semiconductor sector, but semiconductors' vital role to industrial and national development is clear amid the country's trade war with the US. This Digitimes Research Special Report reviews the results of China's efforts to build its semiconductor ecosystem during the 13th 5-year Plan (2015-2020), and looks at the plans set out in its 14th 5-year Plan (2021-2025) to raise China's IC self-sufficiency.