352: Chapter 352 The Seven-Nano Era: The Final Establishment of Chip Hegemony

In Huizhou on April 1st, the morning mist had just dissipated.

On the banks of Daya Bay, a massive cluster of silver-gray factory buildings gleamed with a metallic luster under the sun. Covering three square kilometers—equivalent to four hundred and twenty football fields—this was the world's largest chip production base. Viewed from the air, it looked like a miniature city with crisscrossing roads, rows of factory buildings, and pipes winding like blood vessels.

More than three hundred global journalists took a bus, passed through three security checks, and were allowed into the core production area for the first time. They changed into full cleanroom suits—white coveralls, masks, gloves, and shoe covers—leaving only their eyes exposed. Some were uncomfortable and breathless after a few steps, but no one complained.

Through the massive glass curtain walls, they saw the legendary scene.

Inside the dust-free workshop, robotic arms were dancing silently.

Silver-white robotic arms flew up and down, precisely picking up wafers from the tracks, feeding them into the lithography machines, then removing them and placing them at the next station. The entire process was seamless, without a single pause. On the overhead tracks, small carts carrying wafers shuttled back and forth like subways in a city.

Every two seconds, a twelve-inch wafer came off the assembly line.

The journalists pressed against the glass, mesmerized by the sight.

Li Wanqing stood on the observation platform, speaking into a microphone. The thirty-eight-year-old president of Xinghuo Chip was wearing a white cleanroom suit, with only her face visible. Her voice was calm, but it spread throughout the tour area via the speakers: "Everyone, there are three production lines here—one fourteen-nanometer and two sixteen-nanometer."

She gestured, and the large screen behind her lit up.

Xinghuo Chip Production Capacity (April 2019)

14nm Production Line: 1.2 million wafers/year

16nm Production Line: 2.4 million wafers/year

Total: 3.6 million wafers/year

Share of Global Mature Process Capacity: 32%

Share of Huaxia Market Demand: 85%

Li Wanqing's voice continued: "This means that from today onwards, Huaxia's low-to-mid-end chips are completely autonomous."

Among the journalists, someone began to applaud.

The American journalist from The Wall Street Journal couldn't help but raise his hand: "President Li, can we go inside to take a look?"

Li Wanqing smiled, a smile that could be seen even through her mask: "You can. But you must sign a non-disclosure agreement first."

Ten minutes later, a small group of journalists was allowed to enter the fourteen-nanometer production line.

Inside the dust-free workshop, the air cleanliness was 10,000 times that of a hospital. In every cubic meter of air, there could be no more than ten particles with a diameter greater than 0.1 micrometers. Ordinary people breathing here would feel the air was thin.

Overhead, robotic arms glided silently on tracks. Every few seconds, a robotic arm would descend, grab a wafer, then rise and feed it into a lithography machine. The wafers were processed in a vacuum, without ever coming into contact with a human hand.

The journalist from The Wall Street Journal stood before the observation window and muttered, "This is even more advanced than Intel's factories."

A nearby staff member heard him and said with a smile, "We helped Intel upgrade their factories."

The journalist turned his head to follow up, but the staff member had already walked away.

At 2:00 PM, in the Xinghuo Chip Global Launch Hall, the atmosphere was even more solemn than in the morning.

In front of a massive circular screen, all five hundred seats were occupied. C.C. Wei, the chairman of TSMC, sat in the first row; at sixty-five years old, he wore a dark blue suit, his expression grim. Lee Jae-yong, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, sat next to him; the fifty-year-old Samsung successor looked down at his phone, pretending to be busy. In the back rows were representatives from Intel, MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Apple, each with a complex expression.

More than three hundred global journalists sat behind them, their cameras and lenses aimed at the stage.

Li Wanqing took the stage again.

She had changed out of her cleanroom suit and was wearing a simple white suit. The spotlight poured down from above, casting a long shadow behind her.

"This morning, we looked at mature processes. This afternoon, let's talk about something more advanced."

She gestured, and the large screen switched.

Xingchen 7nm Process Officially Enters Mass Production

Skipping 10nm, Straight to 7nm

Transistor Density: 125 million/mm² (for comparison, TSMC 7nm is approx. 91.2)

Performance: 20% higher than industry 7nm

Power Consumption: 25% lower than industry 7nm

Cost: 30% lower than industry 7nm

Someone in the audience gasped.

C.C. Wei's face instantly turned ashen.

Lee Jae-yong looked up, glanced at the screen, and then looked back down.

2:30 PM, chip Comparison.

Li Wanqing gestured for the staff to bring out three pieces of testing equipment.

On the left was one with an Apple A12 chip—manufactured by TSMC's 7nm process.

In the middle was one with a Samsung Exynos 9820—Samsung's own 7nm.

On the right was one with a Xingchen Flint-5—Xingchen 7nm.

On the large screen, the benchmark scores began to fluctuate.

AnTuTu Benchmark Comparison

Apple A12: 420,000 points

Samsung 9820: 380,000 points

Xingchen Flint-5: 510,000 points

Power Consumption Test

Apple A12: 4.2W

Samsung 9820: 4.5W

Xingchen Flint-5: 3.1W

Li Wanqing smiled, a hint of pride in her expression: "Twenty percent higher performance, twenty-five percent lower power consumption. These aren't just PPT slides; they're actual test results."

In the audience, the face of the Apple representative also changed.

During the Q&A session, a Nikkei Shimbun journalist stood up; she was a Japanese woman in her thirties: "President Li, how did Xingchen manage to skip ten nanometers and go straight to seven?"

Li Wanqing looked in her direction and replied, "Because our FD-SOI process achieved the power consumption levels of others' ten-nanometer process while still at sixteen nanometers. Therefore, we didn't need ten nanometers as a transition."

She paused, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly: "It's like others are climbing stairs, one floor at a time. We took the elevator straight to the seventh floor."

A wave of laughter broke out in the audience.

But C.C. Wei did not laugh.

He stared at the data on the screen, saying nothing.

On the banks of Daya Bay in Huizhou.

The sun was setting, dyeing the entire sea surface a golden red. The waves gently lapped against the shore, making a rhythmic splashing sound. In the distance, several cargo ships were slowly sailing out of the port, the faint sound of their whistles drifting over.

At the seaside three kilometers from the Xinghuo Chip base, a huge plot of land had already been leveled. This had originally been a wasteland, but now it had been flattened by bulldozers, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Dozens of guests sat on the temporary rostrum.

Qian Zhimin, the chairman of State Nuclear Power, sat in the middle. At sixty years old, he wore a dark gray Zhongshan suit; his hair was graying, but he was in high spirits. Beside him were the Governor of Guangdong Province, the Mayor of Huizhou, and Li Wanqing.

Below the stage, more than three hundred journalists had set up their cameras.

Li Wanqing walked to the microphone, her voice exceptionally clear in the evening sea breeze:

"Xingchen chip is cooperating with CNNC and State Nuclear Power—to build the latest generation 'Hualong Three' nuclear power plant in Huizhou, specifically to supply power to the Xinghuo Chip base."

The large screen displayed the data: Huizhou Nuclear Power + chip Project

Nuclear Power Plant: 2 'Hualong Three' units, total installed capacity of 4 million kilowatts

7nm Production Line: Annual output of 600,000 wafers

Total Investment: 250 billion rmb

Operation Date: 2022

Significance: The chip base will completely eliminate power grid fluctuations and achieve 'Zero-Carbon chips'.

Qian Zhimin took the microphone, his voice steady and powerful: "This nuclear power plant will be the world's most advanced Generation III+ nuclear power plant. Its safety standards exceed the Fukushima requirements by 100 times. It has a design life of sixty years and a seismic rating of magnitude nine."

Li Wanqing finally said, "chips are the oil of the new era. And nuclear power is the energy used to refine that oil."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the audience:

"From today onwards, Huaxia's chips will use Huaxia's nuclear power to create Huaxia's core."

The long table was covered with a Crimson velvet cloth, and two agreements were placed neatly upon it.

Li Wanqing and Qian Zhimin took their seats.

The pens set to paper.

Click, click, click—the flashes lit up, making the entire signing stage bright as day.

The two stood up and shook hands.

Applause broke out.

Below the stage, C.C. Wei stood up and quietly left the venue.

No one noticed him.

Lee Jae-yong also stood up and followed.

At 9:00 PM, Li Wanqing accepted an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal.

The interview took place in a reception room at the Xinghuo Chip base. Outside the window, the night at Daya Bay was deep, and the lights of the nuclear power plant construction site were bright.

The journalist from The Wall Street Journal was a middle-aged man around fifty, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He put down his recording pen and asked, "President Li, Xingchen is already the world's largest chip production base. What is the next step?"

Li Wanqing looked at the lights outside the window and remained silent for three seconds.

Then she said, "Three nanometers. Five nanometers. And, to ensure that every device in the world has a Xingchen core."

The journalist followed up, "Does the American technology blockade have any impact on Xingchen?"

Li Wanqing turned her head and looked at him: "Blockade? We don't need their technology. Our lithography machines are built by ourselves, our materials are produced by ourselves, and our EDA software is written by ourselves. What exactly are they blocking?"

The journalist fell silent.

Li Wanqing stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the nuclear power plant construction site was brightly lit as thousands of workers labored through the night.

"By this time next year, the first batch of seven-nanometer chips will be produced here. The year after, three nanometers. The year after that, we might surprise everyone."

She turned around and looked at the journalist: "Tell them that the era of Xingchen has only just begun."