{
  "id": 9110395,
  "title": "China eyes chip-industry foothold with a tiny Han Xin code to challenge US standard",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/china-eyes-chip-industry-foothold-with-a-tiny-han-xin-code-to-9110395",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-22T08:00:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3368357/china-eyes-chip-industry-foothold-tiny-han-xin-code-challenge-us-standard"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "China is striving to bolster its chip industry by promoting a miniature version of the Han Xin code for semiconductors, as part of its ongoing strategy to gain a foothold in global industrial supply chains. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on Monday that the \"Micro Han Xin\" code, a scaled-down variant of the 2007-era symbology, has entered the international standardisation process. This initiative targets components too small for traditional labeling, particularly computer components, by providing unique identifiers for sensors, microprocessors, controllers, memory units, and other elements, enabling their tracking throughout complex manufacturing, packaging, and testing processes.\n\nThe strategy reflects China's aim to challenge dominant foreign technologies in high-specification industrial applications. Currently, China's semiconductor sector relies heavily on foreign systems like Data Matrix, a U.S.-created standard since the 1970s and the global benchmark for marking and tracking semiconductors, silicon wafers, and electronic components. Although the original Han Xin code aimed to replace the widely used QR code, it never gained traction, as the Japanese-developed QR code emerged as the prevailing standard for applications ranging from mobile payments to logistics. The SAMR claims that the Micro Han Xin code matches or surpasses Data Matrix in terms of information density and damage resistance, fitting dozens to over 100 numeric characters or symbols within a space barely discernible to the human eye.\n\nChina plans to incorporate the technology into an upcoming revision of ISO/IEC 20830, which specifies the Han Xin framework's requirements. This revision process began in late May and is projected to last approximately two years. The initiative follows the Article Numbering Centre of China's presentation of the Micro Han Xin code to an international automatic-identification standards meeting in April, which led to a working-group resolution to initiate standardisation efforts, according to Science and Technology Daily in June. As the centre oversees commodity barcodes, article numbering, and automatic-identification systems in the country, China's efforts in refining this technical architecture for global supply chains aim to overcome its historical inability to challenge entrenched foreign standards in consumer markets. However, securing widespread adoption and official status from international bodies could prove challenging due to the existing infrastructure of identification systems within the semiconductor supply chain. While the original Han Xin code was praised for its compactness, a 2021 assessment by global standards body GS1 revealed limited adoption outside China and minimal support from global scanner hardware. Despite this, Han Xin's encoding efficiency, which can lead to smaller symbols compared to QR and Data Matrix codes, positions the Micro Han Xin code as a competitive alternative in the specialised chip manufacturing sector, where technical superiority may outweigh the need for widespread acceptance.",
  "summary": "China is attempting to breathe new life into its nearly 20-year-old Han Xin code by promoting a miniaturised version to use on semiconductors, marking the latest chapter in Beijing’s long-running attempt to secure a foothold for its home-grown standards in global industrial supply chains. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said on Monday that the “Micro Han Xin” code – a…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "SCMP Tech",
        "title": "China eyes chip-industry foothold with a tiny Han Xin code to challenge US standard",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/china-eyes-chip-industry-foothold-with-a-tiny-han-xin-code-to",
        "published": "2026-09-22T08:00:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}