China announces breakthrough in chip design and manufacture

Chinese firms announced startling advances in the design and manufacture of semiconductors, fueling questions over how long the West can maintain its lead.

Washington has sought to curb Beijing’s access to cutting-edge chips and chipmaking equipment, driving China to push domestic advancements.

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences hailed a key breakthrough in developing advanced “EUV” lithography machines used to design chips, defying a recent prediction by the CEO of the world’s lone firm making the equipment that “it would take many, many years” for China to catch up.

Huawei, meanwhile, has reportedly begun delivering advanced artificial intelligence chips to Chinese firms cut off from Western technology.