{"id":34484,"date":"2026-07-29T02:11:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T02:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/34484\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T02:11:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T02:11:17","slug":"china-overcomes-us-ban-with-ai-chip-breakthrough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/34484\/","title":{"rendered":"China overcomes US ban with AI chip breakthrough"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ASML<\/a> Dutch giant ASML leads the world in producing lithography machines, but China is catching up – Alan Schaller <\/p>\n

China has achieved a breakthrough in developing technology crucial to the AI boom, overcoming US efforts to limit Beijing’s access to the systems. <\/p>\n

China’s chip giant Shanghai Yuliangsheng has started production of deep ultraviolet lithography machines, according to The Information, a tech publication. <\/p>\n

These machines, which can reach the size of a double-decker bus, use high-powered lasers to imprint designs on to silicon wafers, which are used to make chips. <\/p>\n

Until recently, only Western companies and allies of the US had the capability to produce these machines. <\/p>\n

The most advanced versions of the technology have largely been the preserve of companies such as Dutch giant ASML and Japan’s Nikon. <\/p>\n

These machines have been cut off from China by US export controls, preventing their production of advanced chips as Washington seeks to slow the development of AI in the country. <\/p>\n

Semiconductor stocks plunged on the report. Trading was briefly halted on South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index after it suffered a collapse of nearly 11pc overnight, following a bleak day on Wall Street. <\/p>\n

Advanced semiconductors, such as those used in AI chips, rely on minuscule circuits, invisible to the naked eye. They can only be manufactured by directing tiny lasers onto microchip wafers, a process known as ultraviolet lithography. <\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/p>\n

Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has made mastering the technology a national imperative in an effort to compete against the US in AI. America’s lead is in part because of China being unable to access the most advanced chips made by tech giant Nvidia. <\/p>\n

Jing Jie Yu, an analyst at Morningstar, said China’s tech breakthrough had sparked concern among investors for major semiconductor stocks. <\/p>\n

He said: “We believe the market was likely spooked by the progress of China’s chipmaking equipment capabilities, and was worried that this progress would threaten the competitive position of global chipmaking and chip equipment leaders.” <\/p>\n

Shares in ASML, Europe’s most valuable company and a leading manufacturer of the technology, fell more than 8pc on Monday. Its rivals ASM International fell more than 7pc and BE Semiconductor dropped nearly 10pc. <\/p>\n

Eastern markets fall <\/p>\n

Japan’s Nikkei and Taiwan’s Taiex stock markets both sank more than 4pc on Tuesday. <\/p>\n

South Korea’s chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix, which have powered its huge stock market rally this year, each plunged more than 12pc. The two companies have fallen almost 50pc from all-time highs recorded last month. It leaves South Korea’s Kospi index on track for its worst month since 1997. <\/p>\n

However, Stephen Innes, of SPI Asset Management, said the downturn was not a sign that demand for semiconductors had collapsed or that tech giants would abandon their investments in AI infrastructure. <\/p>\n

He said: “What has changed is the market’s willingness to capitalise those promises at almost any price. <\/p>\n

“The AI trade spent the past several years behaving like a flywheel: rising equity values encouraged more spending, more spending validated higher earnings expectations, and those expectations pushed valuations higher again. <\/p>\n

“Now that same wheel is beginning to throw investors off at speed.” <\/p>\n

Tuesday’s hammering followed a bleak day on Wall Street. <\/p>\n

Nvidia plunged 5pc on Monday, wiping $250bn (\u00a3188bn) off its valuation. Rivals Sandisk fell 11pc and AMD also fell 5pc. <\/p>\n

The sell-off slowed on Tuesday but the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite still fell 0.7pc in early trading, with Nvidia down a further 1pc and AMD down 7.9pc. <\/p>\n

The downturn helped Apple retake its crown as the world’s largest company, with its market valuation surpassing $5tn for the first time. It is considered less exposed than other tech companies to the AI semiconductor race. <\/p>\n

Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dutch giant ASML leads the world in producing lithography machines, but China is catching up – Alan Schaller…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[65,87,3318,22493,670],"class_list":["post-34484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-asml","tag-asml","tag-china","tag-semiconductor-stocks","tag-shanghai-yuliangsheng","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}