The China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) recently listed the challenges the country faces in its semiconductor industry, and lithography is notably not among the listed issues. However, according to DigiTimes Asia, the exclusion of lithography is more likely a political consideration to downplay the impact of American sanctions on China's indigenous chip manufacturing rather than a local innovation that allows the Chinese to build their own lithography tools.
This isn't the first time the country has disregarded lithography, as Xi Jinping told the Dutch Prime Minister that China doesn't need ASML, the leading lithography tool manufacturer, to advance its technologies. There currently is one China-based lithography tool maker — Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group (SMEE) — with another company, Naura Technology, aiming to develop its lithography tools for the first time in April 2024.
