Overview
- An unpublished directive requires chipmakers seeking to build or expand fabs to show tenders proving at least half of tools are Chinese-made, and applications below that share are typically rejected, according to Reuters sources.
- Officials permit flexibility when supplies are constrained and ease the benchmark for cutting-edge production where local equipment is not yet fully available.
- The measure advances Beijing’s self-reliance drive launched after U.S. export curbs, supported by large state funding through the semiconductor ‘Big Fund.’
- Domestic vendors are gaining ground as foreign suppliers lose access, with Naura and AMEC displacing some tools from Lam Research and Tokyo Electron.
- Naura is testing etching tools on an SMIC 7nm line, logged record 2025 patent filings, and reported strong first-half revenue, while analysts see China nearing 50% self-sufficiency in cleaning and photoresist-removal equipment.