SMIC Founder Richard Chang: 80% of Global Chip Demand Is Outside Advanced Nodes — China Should Target Mature-Node Dominance, Not EUV Battle

SMIC founder Richard Chang publicly argued at a semiconductor conference on May 11, 2026 that advanced nodes (5nm and below) represent less than 20% of global semiconductor demand by volume — and that China's optimal strategy is to dominate the remaining 80% in mature-node and specialty-process chips for automotive, industrial, wearables, and IoT. Chang's argument is strategically significant: it represents an influential industry voice explicitly endorsing a niche-plus-volume strategy rather than a head-to-head EUV race against TSMC. SMIC is targeting 50,000 wafers per month at its 7nm-equivalent (N+2) process by June 2026 using DUV multi-patterning lithography — meaningful production capacity that does not require the ASML EUV tools China cannot legally import. The Dutch EUV export ban remains in force and the US has extended equipment controls to Hua Hong Semiconductor's 7nm development program (April 29, 2026). TrendForce's accompanying analysis noted that China's 22–40nm chip domestic output share will grow from 37% to 42% by 2028, confirming legacy-node self-sufficiency is advancing on schedule. Chang's framing also implies China can generate strategic value — for automotive chips, industrial robots, and consumer electronics — without winning the sub-5nm race, making the current US export control framework's emphasis on advanced-node restrictions potentially less decisive than assumed. TechWire Asia noted that MIIT's parallel directive (May 5) requiring 70% domestic silicon wafer use and 50% domestic equipment for new fab capacity by end-2026 aligns with Chang's mature-node strategy: build a self-sufficient, if not leading-edge, domestic semiconductor ecosystem.