Exclusive: China to publish policy to boost RISC-V chip use nationwide, sources say - Reuters

Abstract

China is preparing to publish a significant national policy designed to aggressively boost the use of RISC-V chips across various sectors nationwide. This governmental initiative signals a strategic commitment to standardizing the open-source instruction set architecture (ISA) within China's domestic technology landscape. The policy aims to accelerate chip independence and foster local innovation using RISC-V technology.

Report

Key Highlights

• National Policy Imminent: China is set to announce a comprehensive national policy aimed at standardizing and promoting the use of RISC-V chips.
• Nationwide Adoption Goal: The policy is expected to mandate or incentivize the widespread adoption of the open-source architecture across domestic industries.
• Governmental Backing: This move signifies a major, top-down commitment by the Chinese government to integrate RISC-V into its core technology roadmap.
• Exclusive Reporting: The news originates from sources providing exclusive information, confirming high-level strategic planning.

Technical Details

• Core Technology: The focus is on RISC-V (Reduced Instruction Set Computer - Five), an open-source Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) that allows companies to develop highly customizable processors without licensing fees tied to proprietary ISAs (e.g., ARM or x86).
• Deployment Targets: While specific sectors are not detailed in the title, national policies typically target areas requiring domestic control and large volume, such as IoT devices, embedded systems, data centers, edge computing, and automotive chips.
• Open Standard Advantage: The selection of RISC-V leverages its non-proprietary nature, enabling domestic companies to modify, extend, and secure the architecture freely, fostering faster local innovation.

Implications

• Supply Chain Resilience: This policy is a crucial step for China in reducing its reliance on foreign, proprietary chip technologies, directly addressing global geopolitical and supply chain risks.
• Global Market Acceleration: A massive governmental push in China, one of the world's largest consumer and manufacturing markets, will dramatically increase investment, tooling, and maturity within the global RISC-V ecosystem.
• Competitive Landscape Shift: China's endorsement significantly raises the competitive threat to proprietary ISA providers, particularly ARM, which currently dominates many segments targeted by RISC-V.
• Domestic Industry Growth: The policy will channel resources and contracts to local Chinese chip design firms (fabless companies) specializing in RISC-V implementations, accelerating their ability to compete internationally.