China's Progress Has Been Mixed Over the Past Decade

China has been on a march, I guess since 2015, to try to create its own domestic chip. The most advanced chip making facilities in China are reliant on the exact same companies to import tools from ASML and other lands. And so you can't make an advanced chip in China without using machine tools that are imported from the US or a couple of allies. Chinese firms not only find themselves still a couple generations behind what TSMC can do, and a couple generations means a couple more laws behind.