China’s semiconductor industry is racing to catch the West’s - The Economist

China's semiconductor industry is accelerating its technological追赶 of Western capabilities, as highlighted in The Economist's coverage. This development represents more than just national technologica... Read original →

China’s aggressive push into sub-3nm nodes is triggering a cascading reconfiguration across the global semiconductor stack. Upstream EDA and photoresist suppliers are recalibrating client strategies, while downstream AI chip designers gain leverage from an expanding foundry menu. U.S.-led export controls have raised compliance costs by over 30%, yet spurred Chinese firms like SMIC and Huawei to circumvent restrictions via chiplet integration and multi-patterning with domestic DUV tools—enhancing supply chain resilience. TSMC and Samsung may tighten advanced packaging collaborations, while Intel could expand its IFS foundry alliance to contain China’s capacity ramp. Within 12–24 months, China will likely transition from equipment access to process stability, reshaping global pricing power in mature nodes and advanced packaging—even with lower yields—and forcing Western policymakers to reassess the diminishing returns of tech blockades.