News & Events

It is reported that on the day of the meeting, the Chinese side announced that Tesla had passed the four testing requirements for Chinese automotive data security. As a result, Truss became the first foreign automobile manufacturer approved by China's data security regulatory authority. It is worth mentioning that on the same day, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers and the China National Computer Network Emergency Technology Coordination Center jointly released the "Notice on the Testing of Four Safety Requirements for Automotive Data Processing (First Batch)". Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y, along with 76 models from six car manufacturers including BYD, Ideal, and NIO, meet the requirements for automotive data compliance and security. The requirements for passing the test include anonymization of facial information outside the vehicle, default non collection of cabin data, processing of cabin data inside the vehicle, and significant disclosure of personal information processing. Regarding the development of the new energy vehicle market, Li Qiang previously conducted research at the 2024 Beijing International Automobile Exhibition and pointed out that we will vigorously develop intelligent connected new energy vehicles, adhere to leading industrial innovation with technological innovation, deepen and expand open cooperation, promote the high-end, intelligent, and green upgrading of the automotive industry, and better meet and create market demand. In this survey, Li Qiang visited the exhibition areas of multiple automobile brands such as Dongfeng, BYD, Zhiji, Jiyue, BMW, Geely, Xiaomi, Sailis, Xiaopeng, etc. He pointed out that China's intelligent connected new energy vehicles have a strong development momentum, especially relying on a complete industrial system and continuous innovation investment, which has formed a leading advantage in market competition and open cooperation. We must continue to work hard to maintain and develop this advantage.. Li Qiang stated that intelligent connected new energy vehicles are "large-scale terminals" that integrate multiple technologies such as machinery, electronics, computing, perception, audio-visual, and energy storage. They have become the main direction for the transformation and upgrading of the automotive industry and have very broad development prospects. We hope that car companies will take innovation as the driving force, demand as the guide, and quality as the foundation, accelerate key core technology research and development, strengthen industry chain collaboration, enhance intelligent manufacturing level, and strengthen forward-looking technology research and development layout, promote the continuous improvement and upgrading of the automotive industry, and make positive contributions to the global green and low-carbon transformation. Li Qiang also emphasized that the current Chinese and global new energy vehicle markets are continuously growing and have huge demand space. Intelligent connected new energy vehicles are also a product of global industrial cooperation to a certain extent, and future development requires all parties to leverage their advantages and deepen division of labor and cooperation. China will further promote the construction of a unified national market, expand high-level opening up to the outside world, continue to relax market access, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, treat domestic and foreign enterprises equally, promote wider exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and foreign car companies in capital, technology, management, talent and other aspects, share opportunities in the Chinese market, and develop together and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results in the technological revolution and industrial transformation.

On April 18th, Tao Qing, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and director of the Operations Monitoring and Coordination Bureau, announced at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that the number of artificial intelligence enterprises in China has exceeded 4500. Tao Qing stated that in recent years, China has made positive progress in the development of artificial intelligence, with the number of enterprises exceeding 4500. Innovative achievements such as intelligent chips and general models have accelerated, and intelligent infrastructure has been continuously strengthened. The construction of digital workshops and intelligent factories has been accelerated, laying a good foundation for empowering new industrialization with artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is a strategic technology that leads a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, and is an important driving force for new industrialization. Tao Qing stated that in the next step, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will implement the requirements of the National Conference on the Promotion of New Industrialization and the Government Work Report, fully leverage the advantages of China's complete industrial system, large industrial scale, and rich application scenarios, take deep integration of artificial intelligence and manufacturing as the main line, intelligent manufacturing as the main direction, and scenario applications as the driving force, promote the intelligent transformation of manufacturing industry, empower the industrial manufacturing system at a high level, and provide new momentum for high-quality development. One is to accelerate breakthroughs in key technologies of artificial intelligence and solidify the foundation of application empowerment. Accelerate breakthroughs in fundamental core technologies and products such as intelligent chips, large model algorithms, and frameworks, focusing on underlying technologies such as algorithms and computing power. Accelerate the deployment of intelligent IoT terminals and industrial clouds, enhance the operational management capabilities of computing power supply for the manufacturing industry, guide ecological enterprises to accelerate the creation of universal large models with global competitiveness, cultivate industry large models for manufacturing scenarios, build high-level industrial databases, and stimulate the value of industrial data elements. The second is to accelerate the intelligent upgrading of key links, key industries, and key products in the manufacturing industry. Deepen the integration and application of artificial intelligence technology in the entire manufacturing process, significantly improving the intelligence level of research and development, pilot testing, production, service, management and other links. Targeting key industries that have a significant impact on the national economy, strong driving force, and good digital foundation, we will launch a special action to empower new industrialization with artificial intelligence. We will strengthen supply and demand matching, promote standards, and promote applications, accelerate the intelligent upgrading of key industries, and enhance the intelligence level of key products and equipment such as high-end equipment, key software, and intelligent terminals. The third is to improve and perfect the supporting system, cultivate and strengthen the industrial ecology. Strengthen the guidance of standards, establish and improve a new industrial standard system empowered by artificial intelligence, optimize the layout of manufacturing innovation centers, public service platforms for industrial technology foundations, and key laboratories in the field of artificial intelligence, enhance collaborative innovation in the industrial chain, strengthen the construction of an open source ecosystem for artificial intelligence, and improve mechanisms for cultivating artificial intelligence talents, ensuring safety, and international cooperation

On April 17th local time, ASML, a major lithography machine manufacturer, released its financial report showing that its first quarter sales were 5.3 billion euros, with a gross profit margin of 51.0% and a net profit of 1.2 billion euros. The newly added orders for the first quarter amounted to 3.6 billion euros, of which 656 million euros were orders for EUV lithography machines. ASML expects net sales in the second quarter of 2024 to be between 5.7 billion euros and 6.2 billion euros, with a gross profit margin between 50% and 51%. Net sales in 2024 will be basically the same as in 2023. ASML President and CEO Peter Wennink stated that the company's first quarter sales were 5.3 billion euros, in the middle of its projected revenue range, with a gross profit margin of 51.0%, higher than expected, mainly due to different product combinations and non recurring one-time expenses. Peter Wennink expects net sales in the second quarter to be between 5.7 billion euros and 6.2 billion euros, with a gross profit margin between 50% and 51%. And it is expected that the R&D cost will be approximately 1.07 billion euros, and the SG&A (sales, general and administrative expenses) cost will be approximately 295 million euros. Peter Wennink stated that as the semiconductor industry continues to recover from its downturn, the company's outlook for the full year of 2024 remains unchanged, and it is expected that the performance in the second half of the year will be stronger than in the first half. The company regards 2024 as an adjustment year and will continue to invest in capacity improvement and technology to prepare for the industry's cyclical turning point.

According to foreign media reports, in order to retain the lithography equipment giant ASML to continue its development in the Netherlands, the Dutch government plans to inject at least 1 billion euros in funding into ASML. At the beginning of this month, the local Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf revealed that ASML plans to relocate the company out of the Netherlands. The report pointed out that ASML has expressed its intention to the Dutch government, stating that it may expand or relocate to other places, with France being one of the options. According to the Dutch news agency, the Dutch government has set up a special task force called the "Beethoven Action", led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, aimed at negotiating with ASML to address its concerns about local labor supply, regulatory policies, and supply chain security in the Netherlands. The latest news indicates that the Dutch government plans to allocate over 1 billion euros (approximately 7.8 billion yuan) for the development of ASML's headquarters, including infrastructure investment, housing, and expansion of Eindhoven University of Technology, particularly to cultivate skilled technical personnel for ASML. According to data, ASML is the world's largest manufacturer of lithography equipment and has absolute dominance in this field. Its development in the Chinese market has exceeded 30 years. On March 27th, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with visiting Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Van Luven. Both sides exchanged in-depth views on topics such as the export of lithography machines to China and strengthening cooperation in the semiconductor industry. Wang Wentao expressed the hope that the Dutch side will uphold the spirit of the contract, support enterprises in fulfilling their contractual obligations, and ensure the normal operation of lithography machine trade. To prevent the generalization of security, jointly maintain the stability of the global semiconductor industry chain and supply chain, and promote the sustained and healthy development of bilateral economic and trade relations. Van Luven also stated that China is one of the most important economic and trade partners of the Netherlands, and the Netherlands is willing to continue to be a reliable partner for China. The export controls in the Netherlands are not targeted at any country, and decisions are made based on independent assessments, while minimizing the impact on the global semiconductor supply chain under the premise of safety and controllability.

Recently, another integrated circuit college in China, the School of Integrated Circuits at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was unveiled and established. The strategic framework cooperation agreement between Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Minhang District People's Government to jointly build the College of Integrated Circuits and the Integrated Circuit Industry Education Integration Innovation Platform has been officially signed. According to the agreement, the Minhang District People's Government and Shanghai Jiao Tong University will jointly accelerate the construction of regional integrated circuit disciplines, technology research and development, and achievement transformation, empower high-quality development of the industrial economy, and cooperate in the integration and sharing of district school resources, innovative development of the integrated circuit industry, and talent exchange and interaction, to create a new highland for the integrated circuit industry. According to "Minhang Today", in order to build a new type of industry university research education integration platform for school enterprise collaboration, the School of Integrated Circuits has signed strategic cooperation framework agreements with more than ten cooperative enterprises. Subsequently, it will cooperate with the signing units in technology research and development, talent cultivation, and other aspects, continuously improving the "acceleration" of scientific and technological achievements transformation, and exploring a new development ecology of "talent cultivation talent aggregation technology innovation industry upgrading" circular linkage. The independent innovation capability and development level of integrated circuit technology and industry have become an important indicator of a country's comprehensive national strength, as well as a key area for China to achieve its strategic goal of becoming a technological powerhouse. In recent years, in order to further cultivate high-precision talents in the industry and solve the problem of core technology bottlenecks, many universities in China have established integrated circuit colleges, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Guangdong University of Technology, Anhui University, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, etc.

Since Anker released the world's first GaN charger on October 25, 2018, officially introducing GaN into the consumer electronics field, major GaN manufacturers have been involved in related products in just a few years. Currently, the GaN consumer electronics market is a red ocean with increasingly fierce competition. Faced with the current application status of GaN in the consumer electronics field, relevant enterprises have begun to seek new incremental markets, and the application of GaN technology has gradually extended to other application scenarios such as new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, and data centers. The special value of GaN is continuously being released in multiple fields beyond consumer electronics。

From January to February, the added value of China's integrated circuit manufacturing industry increased by 21.6% On March 18th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the operation of the national economy in January and February 2024. The spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics, Chief Economist, and Director of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics of the National Economy stated at the meeting that in the first two months of this year, new driving forces and advantages have been continuously cultivated and strengthened, and there have been new developments in all aspects. Industries with high-tech, high-efficiency, and high-quality characteristics are developing well. Specifically, in January and February, the added value of equipment manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 8.6% year-on-year, which was 1.6 percentage points higher than the average level of all industries above designated size; The added value of high-tech manufacturing industry increased by 7.5%, among which the added value of semiconductor device specialized equipment manufacturing industry increased by 41.2%, integrated circuit manufacturing increased by 21.6%, and intelligent unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing increased by 18.2%. Since 2024, the development of China's integrated circuit industry has continued to improve. According to recent data released by the General Administration of Customs, the export volume of integrated circuits in China reached 39.41 billion units in January and February this year, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%, and the export value reached 160.71 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 28.6%.

The semiconductor industry has become one of the hot topics of discussion at the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Recently, foreign media reported that Apple COO Jeff Williams and Vice President in charge of automotive projects Kevin Lynch have announced to employees that the Apple automotive project will begin to wrap up, and most of the employees in the automotive team will be transferred to the AI department led by John Gyanendra. According to data, Apple launched the Titan car manufacturing plan in 2014, but the plan was halted multiple times during this period, and the car manufacturing business officially ended this year. Several industry representatives in China have expressed their views on Apple's decision. Among them, Li Xiang, CEO of Ideal Auto, recently stated on a public platform that Apple's decision to abandon car manufacturing and focus on artificial intelligence is an absolutely correct strategic choice, and the timing is also appropriate. Firstly, by developing artificial intelligence into toC, Apple will become a $10 trillion enterprise; If artificial intelligence loses, Apple will become a trillion dollar enterprise. Artificial intelligence will become the top entry point for all devices, services, applications, and transactions, and it will be Apple's ultimate battle. Secondly, it has been made into a car and achieved great success. Apple's market value will increase by $2 trillion, but the necessary condition for the success of cars is still artificial intelligence. The electrification of automobiles is the first half, while artificial intelligence is the final. The artificial intelligence extended by mobile phones is bits, the artificial intelligence of cars is atoms, and artificial intelligence spans both the digital and physical worlds. Finally, Li Xiang stated that the three necessary conditions for the success of artificial intelligence include talent, data, and computing power.