A circuit board is usually made of insulating materials, designed according to predetermined specifications, and made into conductive patterns such as printed circuits, printed components, or a combination of both. The conductive pattern that provides electrical connections between components on an insulating substrate is called a printed circuit. In this way, printed circuits or finished boards of printed circuits are called printed circuit boards, also known as printed boards or printed circuit boards. Circuit boards can be divided into the following categories according to their functions: single-sided circuit boards, double-sided circuit boards, multi-layer circuit boards, aluminum based circuit boards, impedance circuit boards, FPC flexible circuit boards, etc. The raw materials for circuit boards are: glass fiber, CEM-1, CEM3, FR4, etc.

According to the "Research Report on Deep Research and Investment Prospects Prediction of China's PCB Industry from 2020 to 2025" by the Chinese Research Institute

Analysis of the Market Prospect and Current Situation of the Circuit Board Industry in 2020

The main raw materials required for circuit board production include copper clad plate, copper foil, semi cured sheets, chemical solution, anode copper/tin/nickel, dry film, ink, etc. In addition, the production of printed circuit boards also requires electricity and energy consumption. The significant increase in prices of precious metals, petroleum, coal and other basic energy sources has also led to a significant increase in the prices of main raw materials and energy in the printed circuit board industry, such as copper clad plate and copper foil, This brings certain cost pressure to printed circuit board production enterprises.

In the future, the domestic circuit board industry is likely to form high-end PCB manufacturing and equipment and material research and development bases in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta; A two hour economic industrial belt led by Fortune 500 electronic enterprises along the Yangtze River, including Chongqing, Sichuan, Hubei, Anhui, etc; The Bohai Bay Economic Circle led by Dalian in the north; And the industrial pattern of the Northwest Guangdong Processing Zone after the opening of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge. In 2014, the asset size of China's printed circuit board industry was 2707 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 5.8% in circuit boards; In 2015, the asset size of China's printed circuit board industry was 286.482 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%; In 2016, the asset size of China's printed circuit board industry was 301.379 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%

In the past decade, global circuit boards have continued to migrate to Asia, especially Chinese Mainland, and Chinese Mainland has rapidly become a major producer of electronic products and PCBs. Due to the potential of domestic demand market and the advantages of production and manufacturing, China has attracted foreign capital to settle in one after another, which has promoted the circuit board industry in Chinese Mainland to grow by multiple in just a few years. Due to China's strong market demand for end products and relatively low production and manufacturing costs, as well as the country's investment policies in the transformation and upgrading of basic industries, the development of the domestic PCB industry has been stimulated. There are more than 1000 PCB manufacturing enterprises alone, and the industry is in a state of perfect competition. The Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions are regions with relatively developed electronic technology products in China, as well as the birthplace of IT and PCB. They enjoy unique advantages in terms of geography, talent, and economic environment, and are currently in the stage of industrial upgrading. The low-end products of circuit boards are gradually shifting to other regions in the mainland, while high-end products and high value-added products continue to be concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions. In the future, the domestic circuit board industry is likely to form high-end PCB manufacturing and equipment and material research and development bases in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta; A two hour economic industrial belt led by Fortune 500 electronic enterprises along the Yangtze River, including Chongqing, Sichuan, Hubei, Anhui, etc; The Bohai Bay Economic Circle led by Dalian in the north; And the industrial pattern of the Northwest Guangdong Processing Zone after the opening of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge.

With the gradual transfer of the PCB industry center, mainland China will maintain sustained and stable growth. In the future, driven by the continuous development of the global electronic information industry, it is expected that the global PCB market output value will reach 60.4 billion US dollars in 2021. The circuit board industry is accelerating its transfer to China, with China accounting for 50% of the global total output value in 2017, reaching $28.972 billion. The 5G era is gradually approaching, the degree of automotive electronics is deepening, and the demand for circuit board production is constantly expanding. High frequency PCBs are also demanding a large amount of rigidity.

Support for PCB industry policies

The outline of China's 11th Five Year Plan for national economic and social development proposes to enhance the electronic information manufacturing industry, and vigorously develop core industries such as integrated circuits, software, and new components based on the overall trend of digitization, networking, and intelligence.

According to the "Eleventh Five Year Plan for the Development of Information Industry Technology and the 2020 Medium and Long Term Plan Outline" issued by the Ministry of Information Industry of China, printed circuit boards (especially multi-layer, flexible, flexible and rigid combination, and green environmental protection printed circuit board technology) are one of the 15 key areas for the development of China's electronic information industry in the next 5 to 15 years. Many PCB technology parks have been established in Dongguan and Shenzhen.

Continuous and rapid growth of downstream industries

The rapid development of China's information electronics industry has provided a favorable market environment for the rapid development of the printed circuit board industry. The continuous growth in the production of electronic products such as electronic communication equipment, electronic computers, and household appliances has provided strong impetus for the rapid growth of the circuit board industry. In addition, the issuance of 3G licenses will trigger large-scale telecommunications investment and drive a large demand for servers, storage, and network equipment. According to the prediction of the Ministry of Information Industry of China, the growth rate of fixed assets investment of Chinese Mainland telecom will reach 10.53% and 14.29% respectively in 2006 and 2007.

Labor cost advantage and transfer of manufacturing industry to China

Due to preferential measures in labor resources, markets, investment, and tax policies in Asian countries, manufacturing from the United States and Europe has been attracted to transfer to Asia, especially China. China has unique conditions. A large number of electronic products and equipment manufacturers have set up factories in Chinese Mainland, which has driven the development of related industries. Printed circuit boards, as the basic electronic components, have a strong demand for supporting products in the market, and the industry prospects are promising.