China announces measures to boost IC industry

The news should come as a boon to the country's IT sector, especially the chip-making industry, which has been lagging far behind the world heavyweights.

China relies heavily on imported ICs, which are among the country's top four import categories in terms of value, along with oil, iron ore and LCD panels.

Qualcomm to sell its first China-specific chips this year

Top 10 Chinese smartphone makers

As its reliance on foreign oil and iron ore cannot be reversed overnight, China has been working hard to promote the other two industries.

It has become less reliant on LCD panel imports in recent years, as its two leading makers of the panels, BOE and TCL, have been making strides in innovation. However, IC products continue to be imported in massive quantities.

With China's smartphone market booming, the country imported $232.2 billion worth of ICs in 2013, up 34.6 percent year on year, according to customs authorities.

The figure was higher than the $219.6 billion worth of imported oil for the year, making IC top the list of imports, resulting in a trade deficit of $144.1 billion for the industry, which had been expanding for four years in a row.

The aim is to increase the sales revenue of China's IC industry to 350 billion yuan ($56.2 billion) by 2015, and to narrow the gap between Chinese and international levels in the sector by 2020, with its sales revenue growing 20 percent annually on average, according to the guideline.

By 2030, the main links in the IC industrial chain should reach the leading international level, it added.