It's already December, and 2024 is about to turn a new page. Looking back on this year, the word "bull market" seems to be mentioned less and less—the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 16%. In previous years, that would've been decent, but does this really qualify as a bull market? That seems a bit too generous.

But on the other hand, if you focus on the tech sector, the feeling might be completely different. The STAR Market Composite Index is up 41% this year, and the chip sector is even more impressive: some chip-themed indices saw gains as high as 93% at their peak this year. Even after the correction in October, they’re still holding on to nearly 60% returns. Now that’s what you call a real structural bull market.

To put it plainly, in today’s market environment, it’s nearly impossible to see the kind of all-out, wild surge we’ve seen in the past. "Reduced volatility" has become the main theme—each industry is going its own way, the strong stay strong, the weak remain weak, and the main indices are just background scenery. Picking the right sector is what really matters now.

Why has the chip sector been so resilient this year? Just look at the numbers—in the first three quarters of 2024, total revenue for STAR Market chip component stocks exceeded RMB 90.8 billion, a year-on-year surge of 34.76%. Net profit was even more impressive, jumping 179.28% to RMB 9.437 billion.

There’s a bigger story behind this: this year’s tariff wars have been intense, and the reason we can confidently respond is thanks to the historic breakthroughs Chinese chips have made over the past few years. Now, domestic chips aren’t just replacing imports on a large scale—they’re even starting to be exported in some areas. The autonomy and controllability of the supply chain is real, not just talk.