Academician Ni Guangnan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering proposed at the 2020 World Computer Congress that major internet service provider platforms are all built upon open-source software, and open-source software—exemplified by Linux—wields significant influence. Therefore, the successful model of open-source software can be emulated to adopt an open-source approach in the chip domain.
This is not merely a business model, but also an open model and a promotion model. The aim is to transfer the proven success of open-source practices from the software industry to chips and hardware.
Ni Guangnan believes that, in information technology, chips represent China’s most apparent current weakness. However, the 'Chinese system' is sufficient to alleviate the 'strangling' problem caused by chip shortages: 'China’s advanced system design—achieving high-level synergy between software and hardware—can significantly reduce reliance on individual chips.'
Regarding independent chip R&D strategies, he notes that China’s existing technologies, even with software-hardware and system-level improvements, cannot achieve cutting-edge fabrication processes such as 7-nanometer or 5-nanometer chips in the short term—a limitation that would affect only mobile phone businesses. 'We can produce chips using 14-nanometer or 28-nanometer technologies to meet compatibility requirements for most technological products.'
Last updated: 2026-03-08