YMTC Launches "Wutong Tree Plan," Building Local Chip Supply Chain Around Wuhan Wafer Fab
Nashnova编辑部
YMTC has launched the "Wutong Tree Initiative," signing 17 semiconductor firms to set up near its Wuhan fab in a deal worth over RMB 6 billion — a push to build a domestic equipment and materials supply chain on its doorstep as US export controls squeeze access to foreign tools.
What is the Wutong Tree Initiative trying to do?
The core idea is industrial clustering: use YMTC's Wuhan wafer fab as an anchor and pull equipment, materials, and component makers — previously scattered across China — into its immediate vicinity.
The target is a "five-minute collaboration zone" within roughly 4.5 km of the fab, spanning up to 60 square kilometers, positioned as an integrated memory-and-compute industrial base.
This means → YMTC is not just making chips. It is relocating its suppliers next door, compressing the physical distance and response time from order to delivery.
Who are the first companies moving in?
AMEC (中微公司) — one of China's leading domestic equipment makers, covering etch (the process that carves circuit patterns onto chips), thin-film deposition, and metrology tools. AMEC is setting up a Central China HQ in Optics Valley; its Wuhan subsidiary registered and moved in by late July.
Skyverse (芯视界) — a metrology and inspection firm planning a Central China R&D and production base in Wuhan Future Science & Technology City, extending its operations from research into manufacturing.
Sinopower Semiconductor (神州半导体) — makes RF power supplies (high-frequency power units that drive etch and deposition tools), already shipping to AMEC, Piotech, and NAURA. It too plans a Central China HQ in Optics Valley.
Why is domestication accelerating now?
The immediate trigger: YMTC was placed on the US Entity List in late 2022, restricting its access to advanced foreign equipment. Domestic tools went from "nice to have" to a strategic necessity.
Policy is adding pressure — reports indicate YMTC's Phase 3 production line requires domestic equipment to account for more than 50% of procurement. This means → Chinese-made tools are no longer a backup option; they must carry a structural, majority share of the fab's equipment base.
In plain terms = domestic equipment used to be "better if available." Now it is "no line without it."
Can domestic substitution happen overnight?
In the short term, a full replacement of imported equipment is not realistic — China's overall semiconductor equipment capability remains limited.
The likelier path is gradual progression: domestication rates climb as YMTC expands capacity, equipment clears qualification, and process nodes iterate.
This reflects a broader dynamic: once a supplier completes joint qualification at YMTC, its tools can potentially expand from a single customer to other Chinese fabs, creating a wider substitution effect. YMTC is effectively serving as the qualification gateway for domestic equipment.
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