Photoresist is a critical material used in the manufacturing of semiconductors, display panels and printed circuit boards (PCBs), with its performance directly affecting fine-patterning precision, manufacturing yield and product reliability. As China's semiconductor, advanced display and high-end electronics manufacturing industries continue to develop, together with increasing demand for greater supply chain self-sufficiency, the photoresist industry in Mainland China is advancing toward higher-end technologies and greater localization. Meanwhile, continued upgrades in downstream applications such as consumer electronics, automotive electronics and industrial control are imposing increasingly stringent requirements on resolution, purity, stability and process compatibility, reinforcing the strategic importance of photoresists in advanced manufacturing.
The photoresist market in Mainland China is developing across semiconductor, display and PCB applications. In 2025, the market sizes of display photoresists, semiconductor photoresists and PCB photoresists in Mainland China reached approximately RMB7.45 billion, RMB7.00 billion and RMB4.86 billion, respectively. PCB photoresists have achieved a relatively high level of localization, while leading domestic suppliers of display photoresists have progressively advanced from technological breakthroughs to mass production and commercial adoption. Semiconductor photoresists, by comparison, remain at an earlier stage of localization due to higher technical barriers and longer R&D and customer qualification cycles. As domestic supply chain collaboration strengthens, product performance improves and customer qualification progresses, the localization of high-end photoresists is expected to deepen further.
Future growth in the photoresist industry in Mainland China will be driven by the expansion of the semiconductor and advanced display industries, upgrades in advanced manufacturing processes, continued localization and growing demand from emerging applications. In high-end applications such as CMOS image sensors (CIS), front-end KrF photoresists and OCF color photoresists are subject to increasingly stringent requirements for material purity, fine-pattern formation, defect control, spectral performance and batch consistency, driving suppliers to strengthen capabilities in material platforms, formulation development, process adaptation and stable mass production. Industry competition is also evolving beyond individual product performance toward integrated capabilities encompassing R&D, product portfolios, customer qualification, supply chain assurance and long-term customer collaboration. Companies with sustained innovation capabilities, comprehensive product offerings and scalable commercial delivery capabilities will be better positioned to capture the long-term opportunities arising from the localization of high-end photoresists in China.
