Chinese Semiconductor Leaders Push for National Chip Equipment Development

Leading Chinese semiconductor executives are calling for coordinated government support to develop advanced chip manufacturing equipment by 2030. The push comes as China seeks technological independence amid ongoing U.S. restrictions on advanced semiconductor technology.

Leading semiconductor industry executives in China are pressing their government to launch a unified national initiative aimed at developing advanced chip manufacturing equipment during the next five-year planning cycle from 2026 to 2030.

Three prominent industry leaders – Zhao Jinrong of Naura Technology Group, Chen Nanxiang of Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp, and Liu Weiping of Empyrean Technology – collaborated with major semiconductor research institutions on a joint article published Wednesday evening. The piece advocates for Beijing to consolidate national resources and coordinate technological advances across various organizations.

The semiconductor industry has become a central focus of tensions between China and the United States since 2020, with Washington implementing export controls designed to prevent China from advancing its production capabilities for chips smaller than 7-nanometers.

In their published article in Science and Technology Review, a publication connected to China’s association of science and technology professionals, the executives used Dutch company ASML as a model for what China hopes to achieve.

“Taking lithography machines as an example, ASML’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) equipment has 100,000 components supplied by 5,000 suppliers, with ASML merely serving as the integrator,” the industry leaders explained in their article.

ASML Holding, based in the Netherlands, currently stands as the only global provider of EUV lithography equipment, which is crucial for manufacturing the most sophisticated semiconductor chips that power mobile devices, artificial intelligence systems, and high-performance computing.

“How to establish China’s ASML, so that the ‘integrated’ can jump out of the barrier of ‘fame and fortune’, and uniformly allocate funds and human resources is an urgent issue that relevant departments should immediately formulate implementation plans,” the executives stated.

According to the industry leaders, Chinese research institutions have achieved significant advances in various EUV components including laser light sources, wafer positioning systems, and optical assemblies. However, they emphasized that combining these individual breakthroughs into a functioning complete system represents a critical challenge that must be addressed during China’s upcoming 15th five-year planning period.

The article highlighted additional technological gaps requiring government coordination, including electronic design automation software and essential materials like silicon wafers and specialized gases used in chip production.

China’s latest government work report, released Thursday, officially designated semiconductors as a fundamental component of emerging industries, alongside aerospace, biotechnology, and low-altitude economic activities.

During the report presentation, Chinese Premier Li Qiang emphasized recent progress in domestically-led semiconductor research and development initiatives.

While the five-year strategic plan did not specifically reference lithography equipment, it called for efforts to ‘improve advanced process manufacturing capabilities, accelerate the development of key equipment, materials and components.’

Data published in Science and Technology Review indicates that China’s semiconductor manufacturing capacity for mature 28-nanometer processes and larger accounts for one-third of worldwide capacity, with both production and design activities facing no current restrictions.

The semiconductor executives also recommended establishing public research platforms equipped with cutting-edge processing capabilities to investigate, develop, and test new device architectures, manufacturing equipment, components, materials, and design software.