China’s multi-front campaign to blunt and beat US chip bans - Asia Times

China is employing multiple strategies to counter US export controls on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. On one hand, it is advancing domestic EUV development, such as a prototype built... Read original →

U.S. restrictions on EUV lithography are compelling China to re-engineer its semiconductor roadmap. With ASML machines inaccessible, 3D stacking emerges as a workaround—yet thermal density and yield constraints limit its viability as a true substitute for advanced nodes, serving only as a stopgap for AI chips. Meanwhile, prototype LPP-EUV systems in Shenzhen, though still entangled in patent thickets, heighten global compliance risks; despite ASML’s robust tracking, gray-market flows of used tools remain a credible threat. Over the next 12–24 months, China will aggressively build a de-Americanized equipment ecosystem—from solid-state lasers to domestic photoresists—forcing foundries in Taiwan, China, into geopolitical alignment choices. If 3D integration and chiplet architectures mature, Moore’s Law’s physical limits may be redefined, but ASML’s dominance below 7nm remains unshaken in the near term.