HEFEI -- The World Conference on Integrated Circuits 2022 kicked off on Thursday in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, highlighting the theme of "cooperation for win-win."

Co-sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Anhui provincial government, the conference aims at advancing global cooperation and exchanges in integrated circuits industrial and supply chains, exhibiting the latest achievements in IC, and promoting the development and innovation of China's IC industry.

Nearly 200 guests from over 20 countries and regions including the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Republic of Korea are attending the conference. Among them are high-profile representatives from Qualcomm, IBM, Intel and Huawei.

"Over the past few years, our industry has faced many challenges, from the global pandemic to the widespread shortage of semiconductors. However, the semiconductor industry has also experienced significant growth," said Cristiano Amon, the 2022 chair of the Semiconductor Industry Association of the United States, at the opening ceremony via video.

"I firmly believe the outlook for semiconductor technology has never been brighter. One of the key reasons for this optimism is that semiconductors are essential to the digital transformation that will be accelerating across industries over the next decade," Amon added. Amon is also the president and CEO of Qualcomm.

A wide range of events will be organized during the three-day conference, including diverse forums and the 20th China International Semiconductor Expo, chip designing and testing contests, business matchmaking events, and more.

Anhui is home to more than 400 enterprises involved in the integrated circuit industry, and the province has developed a relatively complete industrial chain from design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, to materials, equipment, innovation research and development platforms, and talent training.