IC industry thrives in Wuxi

The signing ceremony of an IC industrial project with over $10 billion in investments in Wuxi in Aug, 2017. [Photo/wuxi.gov.cn]

The integrated circuit (IC) industry, one of the most defining and competitive industries in Wuxi, is currently thriving, with an output value of 89.2 billion yuan ($14 billion) in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 11 percent, the Wuxi Economy and Information Technology Commission reported on Feb 26.

A number of major IC projects, with a total of $22.8 billion in investments, were launched in 2017. Jiangyin High-tech district was approved as the national industrial base for the IC industry.

Wuxi, as a national center for micro-electronics, as well as one of China's seven industrial centers for IC design, has enjoyed the rapid development of its IC industry in the past year.

The number of IC companies in Wuxi, which are involved in a number of fields including circuit design, wafer manufacturing, package testing, matched equipment and materials, has exceeded 200, and they employ more than 50,000 people.

The progress of the IC and IoT industries has helped promote the growth of high-end software, smart cities, and information infrastructure sectors.

However, unbalanced industrial distribution is still a problem in Wuxi's IC industry. "The 200 IC enterprises in Wuxi cover every part of the industrial chain, but the design industry is seriously lagging", said an official from the Wuxi Economy and Information Technology Commission.

In order to better promote the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and integrated circuit (IC) industries, Wuxi implemented two new policies on Feb 6, 2018.

The policies have expanded support for a range of fields and subjects, and highlight a comprehensive support system that covers industrial development, technological innovation, application and promotion, and industrial ecology. Eligible information technology companies in Wuxi will be able to enjoy the benefits of these policies.

The new policies, along with already existing ones such as those on modern industrial development and talent, will constitute a modern industrial policy system in Wuxi.