【By Observer News, Xiong Chaoran】On September 13, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce took consecutive actions, issuing two investigation notices. One of them was to initiate an anti-dumping investigation on imported related analog chips originating from the United States.
Observer News' "Mental Observation" column analyzed that China's initiation of this anti-dumping investigation is clearly a direct response to a series of U.S. restrictions. The two major product categories targeted by this anti-dumping investigation—general-purpose interface chips and gate driver chips—are not arbitrarily chosen, but are precise strikes after careful consideration.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on the 14th also cited analysts who expected that this investigation, which will last at least one year, will affect sales of major U.S. analog chip companies such as Texas Instruments and Analog Devices in the Chinese market, and will give a boost to domestic competitors.
Zhang Guobin, founder of the Chinese semiconductor industry website "EETrend.com," stated that domestic companies such as Silergy, SGMicro, Southchip Semiconductor Technology, Joulwatt Technology, and Novosense Microelectronics will benefit from this investigation.
Zhang Guobin further pointed out that the investigation initiated by China is expected to create a healthier development environment for domestic analog chip manufacturers. He added that these companies are mostly fabless chip manufacturers, and compared to international integrated device manufacturers that can achieve self-sufficiency from design, manufacturing to sales, they face greater pressure in cost control.
Previously, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China responded to questions regarding the anti-dumping investigation on imported related analog chips originating from the United States, stating that this investigation was initiated upon the application of the domestic industry, in compliance with Chinese laws and regulations and WTO rules. The investigation involves general-purpose interface and gate driver chips imported from the U.S. Preliminary evidence submitted by the applicant shows that from 2022 to 2024, the cumulative import volume of the investigated products from the U.S. increased by 37%, and the cumulative import price decreased by 52%, suppressing and inhibiting the sales prices of domestic products, causing damage to the production and operation of the domestic industry.
Import Price Change Chart of Investigated Products; Screenshot of Application
The South China Morning Post introduced that analog chips regulate voltage and current to process various real-world signals such as sound, temperature, and light, and are an important component of integrated circuits.
Data from the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics organization (WSTS) and market research company Frost & Sullivan show that in 2024, analog chips accounted for about 15% of the global semiconductor market sales.
Analog chips usually adopt more mature process nodes because compared to advanced nodes, the re-design costs and specific analog requirements (such as lower noise) are lower. These chips are mainly applied in areas such as power management, audio equipment, communication systems, sensors, and automotive systems.
Bloomberg also added that analog chips are mainly used to help digital systems interact with the real world, handling tasks such as amplifying wireless signals, power and voltage regulation. Although these chips do not require the most advanced chip manufacturing processes, they are indispensable in various fields such as smartphones, electric vehicles, and medical imaging equipment.
According to a recent report by the Chinese research institution "Chyxx," China is the largest consumer of analog chips. In recent years, with the rise of emerging applications such as electric vehicles, 5G communications, and the Internet of Things, the demand for analog chips has grown rapidly.
A report released by the research company Mordor Intelligence in May this year indicated that due to the increasing adoption of cloud computing, availability of high-speed connectivity, and widespread adoption of IoT devices, the size of the Chinese analog chip market is expected to reach $44 billion by 2025, and continue to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 8.3% over the next five years.
Close-up of a physical analog chip; Photo
Bloomberg noted that following China's announcement of the investigation, semiconductors have become a key area of contention between the U.S. and China. To contain and suppress China, the U.S. cut off China's access to the most advanced AI chips and used some of NVIDIA's weaker chips as bargaining chips. However, China had previously raised concerns with NVIDIA regarding security risks and backdoors in the H20 computing chips.
Observer News' science and technology column "Mental Observation" analyzed that China's decision to launch the anti-dumping investigation at this time is clearly a direct response to a series of U.S. restrictive measures.
From the perspective of trade policy tools, anti-dumping investigations have three strategic values: first, compliance, in line with WTO rules, with a legitimate reason; second, reciprocity, responding to economic pressure with economic means; third, precision, targeting specific products and companies to avoid escalation of full-scale conflicts.
Notably, this investigation was initiated upon the application of the Jiangsu Semiconductor Industry Association, reflecting the genuine demands of the industry. This "bottom-up" application mechanism not only enhances the legitimacy of the investigation, but also demonstrates the proactive awareness of the Chinese semiconductor industry in defending against unfair competition.
The dumping margin of the relevant analog chips is over 300% or more; Screenshot of Application
The South China Morning Post mentioned that China's announcement of the investigation coincided with the meeting between the delegations of the two countries on September 14 in Madrid, Spain, regarding economic and trade issues. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China stated that both sides will discuss the U.S. unilateral tariff measures, abuse of export controls, and issues related to TikTok.
On September 13, the website of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce published two announcements, initiating an anti-dumping investigation on imported related analog chips originating from the United States, and initiating an anti-discrimination investigation on the U.S. measures related to the integrated circuit sector.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China, when answering questions about these two investigations, stated that recently, the U.S. government has generalized the concept of national security, abused export controls and "long-arm jurisdiction," maliciously blocked and suppressed Chinese chip products and artificial intelligence industries, seriously violating WTO rules and harming the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, and China firmly opposes this; in recent years, the U.S. has taken a series of prohibitions and restrictions measures against China in the integrated circuit sector, including 301 investigations and export control measures. These protectionist practices are suspected of being discriminatory against China, aiming to curb China's development of advanced computing chips and artificial intelligence, not only harming China's development interests, but also seriously damaging the stability of the global semiconductor industry chain and supply chain, and China firmly opposes this.
On September 14, the WeChat official account of the China Communications Enterprises Association issued a statement expressing firm support for the two investigations initiated by China, and firmly upholding the necessary measures taken by the Chinese government to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the information and communications industry and enterprises in China.
The statement pointed out that according to Chinese laws and regulations and WTO rules, the Chinese government has the right to investigate imported products that have been dumped, and take countermeasures against any discriminatory trade measures. We call on the global industry to work together to oppose all forms of protectionism and unilateral sanctions, and advocate sustainable win-win development through technological innovation, industrial chain collaboration, and international cooperation.
On September 15, the China Association of Automobile Industries issued a statement expressing its strong concern and firm support for the necessary measures taken by the Ministry of Commerce in accordance with the law.
The statement pointed out that the technological advancement and sustainable development of the automotive industry especially need an open, fair, and non-discriminatory international market environment. The China Association of Automobile Industries called on domestic and foreign enterprises to continue strengthening technological innovation and industrial chain collaboration, deepen open cooperation in areas such as electrification and intelligentization, and jointly promote the global automotive industry's green, safe, and high-quality development.
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