(Yicai Global) Feb. 14 -- China’s emerging information technology industry is predicted to fatten to exceed CNY3 trillion (USD440 billion) by 2026, according to a think tank.

After several technology giants joined the wave of upgrading the IT industry that covers hardware, software, and cybersecurity, it is growing rapidly, the China Center for Information and Industry Development wrote in a report published recently.

Shipments of personal computers linked to innovation will probably total 4.8 million units this year and could rise to 9.5 million units in 2026, the organization under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology predicted.

China’s industry chains of basic hardware are gradually becoming more complete and a group of leading companies is starting to emerge in semiconductors, memory chips, servers, and PCs, per the report. Financial data provider Wind shows that an index of IT innovation has begun rising this year with a growth rate close to 20 percent.

One of the industry heavyweights is Huawei Technologies. Besides consumer goods, the Shenzhen-based firm makes telecoms equipment for corporate and public sector clients. But the firm is also known for its chips in China as the Huawei Kirin 990, which was introduced in 2019, is the only homegrown processor for desktop computers with over 10 million shipments, Yicai Global learned recently from the company.

However, when it comes to central processing units and operating systems, domestic firms have some catching up to do. American chipmakers Intel and Advanced Micro Devices occupy more than 95 percent of the Chinese market for central processing units. Meanwhile, California-based Nvidia and AMD make up 99 percent of the graphics processing unit market, China Galaxy Securities pointed out.

Domestic firms have developed foundational software for servers, including the Galaxy Kylin and Uniontech's Unity, but they are based on the open-source Linux platform. Microsoft's Windows and Apple's MacOS account for more than 90 percent of the OS market in China.

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi