U.S. Chip Controls Choke China's Tech Domination Plans

Furious at US efforts that cut off access to technology to make advanced computer chips, China’s leaders appear to be struggling to figure out how to retaliate without hurting their own ambitions in telecoms, artificial intelligence, and other industries, Joe McDonald reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Creating a machine comparable to that of the Dutch company ASML, which has a monopoly on EUVs might cost $5 billion and require more than a decade of research, according to industry experts.

China’s foundries can etch circuits as small as 28 nanometers apart. By contrast, the Taiwanese company TSMC and others can etch circuits just three nanometers apart, 10 times the Chinese industry’s precision.

They are moving toward two nanometers.

To make the latest chips, “you need EUV (extreme ultraviolet lithography) tools, a very complicated process recipe, and not just a couple of billion dollars but tens and tens of billions of dollars,” said Peter Hanbury, who follows the industry for Bain & Co.

“They’re not going to be able to produce competitive server, PC and smartphone chips,” Hanbury said. “You have to go to TSMC to do that.” China imports $300 billion worth of chips annually.

Huawei said in a video on its website in December it was working on EUV technology. But creating a machine comparable to that of the Dutch company ASML, which has a monopoly on EUVs might cost $5 billion and require more than a decade of research, according to industry experts.

Huawei didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The day when China can supply its own EUV machine is “very far away,” said Hanbury. Worse, China has been barred from securing electronic design automation (EDA) software and could not secure the 1,500 patented technologies owned by the US, Japan and Europe and are required for manufacturing, cleaning, and upgrading chips, Yu Bing and Mike Corder also reported for AP.

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