China's Semiconductor Giants Call for the Creation of a Local Version of ASML

China's Semiconductor Giants Call for the Creation of a Local Version of ASML to Counter American Restrictions

A number of top executives in China's semiconductor sector have called for a broad national initiative to develop a domestic alternative to the Dutch company ASML, which specializes in manufacturing chip production equipment, in an attempt to reduce China's dependence on Western technology amid growing American restrictions.

This call came in the form of a jointly authored article that included the founder of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), alongside officials from major companies such as Empyrean Technology, Yangtze Memory Technologies, and Naura Technology Group, in addition to academics from Tsinghua and Peking University.

The participants noted that China's semiconductor industry still suffers from fragmentation and small scale compared to global competitors, which leads to dispersal of resources and weakens the ability of Chinese companies to compete in this vital sector.

American Restrictions on China's Semiconductor Industry

The report indicated that the United States has succeeded in limiting China's progress in three key areas within the semiconductor industry, namely:

Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software used in designing electronic chips.
Silicon materials, which form the foundation for manufacturing processors.
Advanced manufacturing equipment, most notably Extreme Ultraviolet lithography technology EUV, which is monopolized by ASML.

EUV machines are among the most complex industrial machines in the world, as a single device consists of more than 100,000 parts supplied by approximately 5,000 suppliers, while ASML integrates these technologies into one unified system.

China's Race to Develop Technology Domestically

EUV technology is used to print extremely fine patterns onto silicon chips, which is an essential step for producing modern high-performance processors.

However, the Netherlands, under pressure from the United States, has imposed restrictions that prevent the export of these advanced machines to China.

Despite this, China has managed to achieve progress in some components related to this technology, such as high-power lasers, precision optical systems, and advanced mechanical platforms. However, the greatest challenge still lies in integrating all of these technologies within a single industrial system capable of actual production.

Experts believe that achieving this goal requires comprehensive national coordination within China's Fifteenth Five-Year Plan, which extends until 2030.

The Need to Consolidate Companies and Resources

The report indicates that building what could be called a “Chinese ASML” requires the unification of efforts, financial resources, and human capital, in addition to strengthening cooperation between companies in the fields of chip design, silicon materials, and design software.

Currently the sector suffers from significant fragmentation, as China includes:

More than 100 EDA software development companies
Around 3,600 chip design companies
More than 180 companies specializing in chip manufacturing equipment

This makes coordination between these companies a necessity to achieve the required progress.

A Chinese Project to Develop an EUV Machine

Reports indicate that China is already working on developing a domestic EUV machine in the city of Shenzhen, by studying and dismantling some older ASML machines to understand how they work.

A prototype of the machine was completed during the past year, but it has not yet been able to produce usable chips.

In contrast, some Chinese companies have announced progress on key components, such as Glory Photonix, which claims to be the sole domestic supplier of high-power lasers, in addition to Beijing U-Precision Tech, which has developed a dual-platform alternative to the Twinscan system used in ASML equipment.

A Global Technological Race

These efforts reflect the escalating technological competition between China and the United States in the field of semiconductors, a sector that has become one of the most important arenas of strategic and technological rivalry in the world today.

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