The first Central Processing Unit (CPU) in China to reach the base frequency of 3.0GHz was released by the Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor Co Wednesday, marking a major breakthrough in the country's semiconductor industry. 

It was the first time that a China-produced CPU reached 3.0GHz, which is the international mainstream standard, and the product marks a major breakthrough by significantly narrowing the gap between Chinese chipset makers and their international competitors.  

Some of the most popular CPU products in the world are all designed with a base frequency of 3.0GHz or above.

For instance, the Xeon W-3175X produced by Intel has a base frequency of 3.1GHz, and the Ryzen Threadripper 2950X has a 3.5 GHz base frequency. The 16nm 3.0GHz x 86 CPU products made by Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor Co are from the KX-6000 and KH-30000 series.

According to a report by local news site jfdaily.com, the capacity of the latest KX-6000 series has increased by 50 percent compared to the previous generation, now reaching the equivalent of the mainstream 7th generation i5-7400 by Intel.  

The semiconductor design and manufacturing, deemed a strategically important sector for the economy, is flourishing domestically, especially in Shenzhen and Shanghai. 

The number of companies in Shanghai that currently have an integrated circuits business has reached 600 with almost 180,000 employees. The scale of the industry in Shanghai accounts for 22 percent of the nation's total, according to the report.