Core Technologies China Has Not Yet Mastered Beyond Chips

The core pain point of China’s communication industry – the issue of “lack of chips and soul” – is once again severely presented to people.

“We cannot always dress our tomorrow with others’ yesterday”; core technology cannot be obtained by begging, nor can it be bought with money. The second half of China’s economic development focuses on achieving high-quality development and independent innovation of core technologies. This road is long, but it must be done with heart!

Besides chips, what other technologies are we subject to?

This may be the most complete list of core technologies that China has not yet mastered.

Basically occupied by Japan and the United States.

Currently, the highest precision etching equipment is from Hitachi. For example, Toray, Teijin’s carbon fiber, ultra-precision instruments, CNC machine tools, grating engraving machines (the best is also Hitachi, with engraving precision reaching 10000g/mm), photolithography machines (ASML), etc., are all strictly restricted from export by the US and Japan.

To manufacture a CPU, many devices and materials are needed. Among the top ten semiconductor equipment manufacturers in the world, there are four American companies and five Japanese companies.

Producing semiconductor chips requires 19 essential materials, and missing one can be critical. Most materials have extremely high technical barriers, so semiconductor material companies occupy a crucial position in the semiconductor industry.

Japanese companies hold over 50% market share in 14 key materials, including silicon wafers, synthetic semiconductor wafers, photomasks, photoresists, pharmaceuticals, target materials, protective coatings, lead frames, ceramic boards, plastic boards, TAB, COF, wire bonding, and packaging materials. The Japanese semiconductor materials industry has maintained absolute advantages globally. 70% of semiconductor silicon materials are provided by Shin-Etsu Chemical of Japan.

Ultra-precision machine tools and materials science are the mother of industry: Japan, Germany, and Switzerland dominate, with Japan leading the world significantly.

The world’s highest precision machine tool spindle comes from Japan’s Seiko.

America’s F22 Raptor uses Japanese machine tools: SNK’s 5-axis boring and milling machine.

Yamazaki Mazak (Japan) has been awarded the world’s best company by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the best local factory and export achievement award in the UK, the Whitney Productivity Award from the American Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and is a supplier of machine tools and training for the US Army’s Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing Technology Center, as well as the best machine tool supplier for Boeing Group, etc. Mazak’s best segment is undoubtedly the machining center.

The world’s highest precision machine tool in ultra-precision processing comes from Japan’s Jtekt’s AHN15-3D freeform diamond machining machine, which is mainly used for ultra-precision turning and grinding of various optical lens and blue light lens molds. This machine is nearly 8 times higher in processing precision than three military artifacts (the USA’s LLNL’s LODTM and DTM-3, and the UK’s CUPE’s OAGM2500).

More than 70% of precision machine tools are equipped with the world’s highest precision automatic tool setting instrument developed by Japan’s Metrol.

The only slow wire electric discharge machine that breaks through nano-level processing precision comes from Japan’s Sodick, which successfully developed the world’s first hybrid wire-cut electric discharge machine by combining electric discharge processing with water jet processing.

Essential transmission components for any advanced industrial machinery, Japan’s HDS’s high precision, high torque, lightweight, and low backlash harmonic reducers hold over 40% market share globally, with NASA, Airbus, and Zeiss surgical microscopes relying on it for feedback device power transmission, steering, and precision positioning.

Japan’s Amada developed the world’s first composite sheet metal processing machine LASBEND-AJ, which integrates four sheet metal manufacturing processes: laser welding, forming, tapping, and bending, based on the successful ASTRO-540 interpro model popular in Europe launched in 2000.

The representative of dual spindle double turret lathes – Okuma. Okuma is the only “all-round manufacturer” in the global machine tool industry and has insisted on designing and developing all core components (drivers, encoders, motors, spindles, etc.) to CNC operating systems and terminals in-house for decades, truly achieving both software and hardware.

The authoritative German mechanical technology magazine Maschinenmarkt has continuously awarded Okuma’s Machining Navi automatic processing navigation technology and multi-layer narrow gap permanent magnet reluctance motor Prex motor the best innovation technology award.

Japan’s Matsuura Machinery has almost monopolized high-end engine processing in Europe, traditionally serving supercar brands like Ferrari and Bugatti.

China’s high-precision scientific research equipment copper material main supplier, the state key support agency Chinalco, purchased a complete copper stretching double-sided milling production line from Japan’s Ikeda Seiki; the processing of copper materials on almost all automotive brands globally relies on Ikeda Seiki’s equipment.

Industrial robots are a globally developing industry for the next 50 years. Currently, the technology for industrial robots is basically in the hands of Japan.

The four major families of robots: Japan’s Fanuc, Yaskawa Electric, Sweden’s ABB, and Germany’s KUKA. Among them, Fanuc is the global sales record holder, profit maintainer, and technology leader for industrial robots. KUKA is the weakest, with its core technology mainly purchased, and it is currently acquired by Midea.

Industrial robots have three core technologies, which are also the key technologies of three core components: controllers (control technology), reducers, and dedicated servo motors and their control technologies.

First-line manufacturers include: Fanuc (Japan), Yaskawa (Japan), ABB (Switzerland), KUKA (Germany). Second-line manufacturers include Comau (Italy), OTC (under Daihen, Japan), Kawasaki (Japan), Nachi-Fujikoshi (Japan), Panasonic (Japan), etc.

The US, Japan, and Germany basically monopolize this field, with 10 companies from the US, 6 from Japan, 4 from Germany, and 2 from the UK.

The US and Japan are both major countries for the Nobel Prize, with Japan winning a Nobel Prize almost every year since 2000, one of which is closely related to the manufacturing and use of high-end instruments.

For example, Japan’s SATAKE has long been committed to developing machinery and equipment for rice, one of humanity’s three major food crops, with its grain food equipment, experimental testing equipment, and related environmental machinery all holding the top market share. Governments and enterprises from major rice-producing countries globally, including China, the US, Southeast Asia, and South America, cooperate with SATAKE.

The world’s most powerful research microscope, customized by Hitachi for the University of Victoria in Canada, was officially put into use last year.

Currently, the two main brands of high-end electron microscopes globally are Japan’s JEOL and the US’s FEI. The world’s only atomic nanometer-level holographic electron microscope has also been successfully developed in Japan – from Hitachi.

One of the peaks of medical hardware, the only 6 heavy ion cancer radiotherapy devices in the world are 5 in Japan and 1 in Germany. Currently, among patients who choose to undergo heavy ion therapy without surgery, 80% are treated in Japan.

Another peak of medical technology hardware – proton beam therapy accelerators, invented by Hitachi and Hokkaido University, with a complete set of equipment priced over 200 million dollars, and the global installation quantity is less than 15 units.

The world’s first conformal intensity-modulated radiation therapy device with stereotactic capabilities used for pancreatic cancer treatment – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The world’s first boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) device, successfully commercialized for hospitals without relying on research reactors – Sumitomo Heavy Industries – Kyoto University. BNCT is one of the cancer treatments that does not require surgery, developed through collaboration between industry and academia in Japan.

The world’s fastest and only instrument capable of detecting high-energy signals from galaxies beyond the Milky Way – MAXI (All-sky X-ray Monitor). It carries the world’s wide-field narrow-slit monitoring camera (12 solid-state + 2 gas) jointly developed by JAXA and RIKEN, placed on the Kibo module of the International Space Station.

The world’s first planetary observation space telescope (extreme ultraviolet spectrometer) – Japan’s Sprint-A.

JEOL successfully launched the next generation cold field emission spherical aberration corrected transmission electron microscope – JEM-ARM300F, with the highest acceleration voltage of 300kV, consolidating its leading position in the field of electron microscopes.

The world’s highest beam brightness and intensity generation capacity energy recovery light source photocathode DC electron gun – Japan’s Pearl.

Hitachi’s proton beam cancer therapy equipment has been used in over 2400 instances at the world’s number one cancer hospital, MD Anderson in the US. Additionally, the Mayo Clinic, the only designated pediatric comprehensive cancer treatment and research institution by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US, and Germany’s largest oncology department at Heidelberg University Hospital are all utilizing Hitachi’s proton beam therapy equipment.

American Caterpillar, Terex ranks first and third. Japan’s Komatsu and Hitachi rank second and fourth. China’s XCMG enters the top ten.

In 2016, China’s vigorous infrastructure development led to a 97% year-on-year increase for Japan’s Komatsu, a 42% increase for Hitachi, and a 29% increase for Kobe Steel.

The largest (8100tm) telescopic tower crane with a production record – IHI Construction Machinery.

Japan, Sweden, and Germany dominate. The important role of bearings in the industrial field and the requirements for materials science are well understood by professionals.

Carbon fiber is indispensable in high-end military, industrial, daily life, automotive, and aerospace applications. Carbon fiber technology is basically monopolized by Japan’s Toray, Toho, and Mitsubishi Rayon. Currently, China’s T800 cannot be perfectly mass-produced, while Toray is already working on T1100G.

Boeing and Airbus are regular customers of Toray.

Following carbon fiber, the new material SIC fiber, originating from Japan, will once again drive technological innovation worldwide, with the core components of the next generation of aircraft engines using new materials developed in Japan.

From the proportion of CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) used in aircraft bodies, the latest medium and large aircraft from European Airbus and American Boeing have exceeded 50%. In the CFRP field, Japanese companies hold about 70% market share.

General Electric (GE) will jointly develop components such as turbine fan blades, previously made from nickel alloys, using high-pressure gas with Japan’s Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries and Ube Industries.

World-leading optical glass manufacturers include Japan’s Hoya, Japan’s Ohara, Japan’s Sumita Optical, and Germany’s Schott.

Among them, Japan’s Sumita Optical holds the highest refractive index, the lowest forming melting point, and the highest variety record for precision molded optical glass. Sumita Optical’s optical glass is comprehensively leading its peers in both manufacturing processes and product variety.

One of the most important mother machines in optics, large-scale diffraction grating engraving machines, can only be produced by 3-4 countries worldwide, with Hitachi possessing the highest engraving precision of 10000g/mm, directly affecting research in the optical field.

The world’s number one planet detection capability is Japan’s Subaru, which is the largest single primary mirror optical infrared astronomical telescope. Of the ten farthest galaxies discovered from Earth, nine were found using it, including the farthest, and it broke the record for the farthest observation of a new galaxy in 2012.

Recognized by the Guinness World Records, the world’s most precise optical planetarium is from Japan’s Goto Optical. The most advanced optical planetarium in the world can accurately project 140 million stars, and Goto Optical and Konica Minolta together hold about 70% market share in this field.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hitachi, and Siemens dominate this field. The world’s highest thermal efficiency gas turbine for power generation comes from Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ M701J, which is also the world’s largest power generation gas turbine.

The world’s largest dual-shaft gas turbine is Hitachi’s H80, with simple cycle power of over 110mw and combined cycle power of over 154mw.。

The heart of the generator, currently this field is dominated by Hitachi. Each de-NOx catalytic device is roughly the size of a multi-story residential building, and all power plants in China are its clients.

Powerful waste incineration equipment is an indispensable environmental protection device in the process of urbanization. Hitachi Zosen leads this field, with clients all over the world, and 26 installations in China.

Globally, only three companies possess complete independent design and manufacturing capabilities (two in Japan and one in Germany). Among them, Japan Steel Works’ gearless pump type can achieve the world’s highest standard of 100th (870,000t/year), while Kobe Steel has the highest market share globally. The PP/PE extrusion granulation machine is essential equipment for chemical plants, with both of China’s major oil companies as clients of Japanese companies.

The world’s highest single lift and maximum flow industrial water pump, designed and built by Japan’s Ebara, has been used in the Shanxi Yellow River diversion project.

Japan’s Fujitsu dominates this field. The world’s leading commercial document imaging solution provider, the inventor of form printing-recognition-electronic integration technology – Fujitsu PFU.

Fujitsu PFU has used its world-leading market share in commercial scanners and independently developed optical character recognition software (OCR) to help China’s National Bureau of Statistics efficiently and accurately complete the world’s largest population census.

The world’s number one blood diagnostic equipment manufacturer, Japan’s Sysmex, is designated by the National Medical Products Administration for quality inspection of all blood cell counting devices across the country, thus enhancing the quality and daily accuracy management of these devices.

Leading enterprise – Toshiba Mitsubishi Electric Industrial Systems Corporation (TMEIC) provides all high-voltage inverters and high-speed motors for China’s first cross-border natural gas transmission project – the second west-to-east gas pipeline project, which is also the longest pipeline in the world.

Hitachi and the Dongfang Electric Group’s joint venture, Dongfang Hitachi, provides hundreds of high-output, high-conversion photovoltaic inverters for China’s largest hydropower photovoltaic complementary power station. Photovoltaic inverters are one of the key devices in photovoltaic power stations that convert the direct current generated by solar cells into alternating current and assume system protection roles.

Japan’s Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Asahi Glass, and Daikin Industries developed the world’s most advanced HFC-23 decomposition recovery device, which has an effective destruction rate of over 99.99%, accounting for more than 30% of the global demand for equipment to destroy HFC-23 gas. China’s National Development and Reform Commission is one of its clients.

HFC-23, also known as Freon 23, is a major contributor to global warming and is extremely difficult to destroy, requiring strict control to prevent it from entering the atmosphere.

In the fields of seawater desalination, wastewater reuse, and ultra-pure water preparation, Japanese chemical companies such as Nitto Denko, Toray, Teijin, and Asahi Kasei hold considerable influence.

Asahi Kasei’s Microza water treatment technology has been applied to the most water-scarce competition projects in Beijing’s Fifth Ring Road.

One of the largest comprehensive architectural design companies globally, Japan’s Nikken Sekkei has an impressive track record, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, ranking first in the world for nine consecutive years.

Dubai’s second tallest building Burj Al Alam, Beijing TV Station, Shanghai Bank of China, and Shenzhen Tai Ping Financial Tower were all designed by Nikken Sekkei.

Hydrogen reactors are essential for large chemical plants. Among the few countries capable of building hydrogen reactors, Japan’s Kobe Steel and Nippon Steel’s thermal wall hydrogen reactors consistently rank first and second globally (in terms of maximum outer diameter, weight, temperature, and wall thickness). Kobe Steel is also the only manufacturer with complete independent capabilities in designing and assembling core materials throughout the entire manufacturing process.

Essential for large-scale production of candies, pharmaceuticals, etc., powder processing machines are dominated by Japan’s Hosokawa Micron. If Hosokawa Micron’s powder and particle processing machinery were to stop production, the production workshops of major pharmaceutical and candy companies globally would face paralysis. Hosokawa Micron’s powder processing machinery is the preferred equipment for international pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer, Roche, Novartis, AstraZeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline.

In all sheet processing fields (steel plates, automobiles, home appliances, construction), core winding equipment belt tensioning machines are essential, with over 90% market share occupied by Japan’s JDC’s RB21 and Beltbridle models.

The inventor of MSG, Japan’s Aji-no-Moto, is widely present in various beverages and foods. While it may not be directly encountered in daily life, it is certainly consumed regularly. Aji-no-Moto, as a manufacturer of amino acid infusions, is indispensable for surgical patients before and after surgery, holding a 60% market share globally, and has a 40% share of aspartame, widely present in beverages and chewing gum, with 70-80% of low-sugar brands from Coca-Cola and Pepsi sourcing aspartame from Aji-no-Moto.

Sumitomo Heavy Industries, as an established chemical mother machine manufacturer, controls the majority of the market for coke generators used in metallurgy and ironmaking, with major customers including large oil companies in China, the US, the UK, and the Middle East.

Whether flying in the sky, swimming in the sea, or running on the ground, any mobile mechanical object requires power, and the premise of power generation is testing – Japan’s Horiba holds overwhelming leadership in the field of precision testing equipment for engines, transmissions, brakes, and emissions, playing an indispensable role in automobiles, tanks, and aircraft.

The world’s largest manufacturer of special steel materials, Japan’s Daido Steel, produces drive shafts for engines and switch valves for marine diesel engines, holding 30% and 60% global market share, respectively, especially in the drive shaft market, where it is undoubtedly number one, traditionally being the first choice for Boeing and Airbus’s main passenger aircraft engines.

Japan’s Shima Seiki, based in Wakayama, holds the record for the world’s fastest fully formed computer knitting machine and holds 60% market share in this field. Computer knitting machines are regarded as the two major mother machines in the textile industry alongside industrial sewing machines.

Shima Seiki’s computer knitting machines are referred to as the