Now Chinese firms eyeing entry into Semicon India 2026

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SynopsisSurging component imports drawing Chinese companies to Indian govt's flagship event

AgenciesChinese companies may for the first time make a tentative entry into Semicon India, the country’s biggest chip-industry summit, official and industry sources told ET. The fifth edition of the state-backed event, focusing on the entire chip value chain, has attracted interest from Chinese suppliers, they said.

“There are many Chinese firms that expect a substantial increase in short-to-medium-term sales opportunities in India, as the electronic component and mobile phone manufacturing quickly expands here,” said an official.

Semicon India 2026 will be held in Delhi on September 17-19, five days after the capital hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping during the BRICS Summit. A 400-strong delegation is expected to accompany Xi in his first visit to India in seven years, media reports said.

Chinese businesses are not expected to join as exhibitors, but functionaries may attend as trade delegates, officials said.

“We have never restricted individuals or businesses of any one country from participating. It’s true this time there is some interest (from China),” an official said.

To be sure, New Delhi’s policy goal is to reduce its reliance on Beijing. But the explosive growth of India’s electronics sector has raised demand for raw components faster than the domestic supply chain can rustle up, forcing more imports from China.

As many as 38 of the 106 projects approved under the Electronic Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) so far have begun manufacturing, while 16 are in the construction and machinery installation phase.

In the first quarter (April-June) of FY27, electronic component imports from China shot up 1.39 times to $4.87 billion while telecom instruments jumped 1.5 times to $4.52 billion, official statistics showed.

Semicon India is jointly organized by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and global chip industry body SEMI.

The 2026 edition will have 500+ exhibitors representing the global semiconductor and electronics ecosystem, and 240+ participating companies. It will feature six country roundtables with South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, Malaysia, the US, Japan, and Sweden. Indian firms will be supported to attend these roundtables and forge partnerships with foreign entities, officials have said.

There has almost been no direct Chinese involvement since the summit was first held in 2022 due to border tensions.

But after a gap of five years, China and India resumed issuing tourist visas in March and July of last year, respectively. Documentation for Chinese nationals applying for Indian visas was set to be made simpler from earlier this month, Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Doraiswami said.

Meanwhile, the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing on Monday to attend the 25th round of talks between the Special Representatives (SRs) of India and China on the boundary question.

Read more news onSemicon India 2026Chinese companies in Indiachip industry summitelectronics sector growth in IndiaIndia-China trade relationsreliance

(Catch all the Technology News News, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

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