News
China semiconductor equipment self-sufficiency varies by sub-segment with advanced lithography remaining at near zero
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 at 11:57 AM
An analysis of China's semiconductor equipment self-sufficiency reveals significant disparities across sub-segments. While photoresist stripping equipment has reached 75-90% self-sufficiency for low-to-mid-range applications, high-end tools remain below 30%. Cleaning and etching equipment achieve 50-60% domestic sourcing. Conversely, critical lithography for advanced nodes remains at nearly 0% domestic capability due to reliance on ASML, while CMP, ion implantation, and mature-node lithography range between 10-25%.
Context
China has reached a historic 35% overall semiconductor equipment self-sufficiency rate as of early 2026, yet progress remains starkly uneven across the supply chain. While domestic firms have secured dominant positions in mature segments—with photoresist stripping tools reaching up to 90% localization and etching equipment surpassing 60%—advanced processes remain a critical vulnerability. National leaders like Naura Technology Group and AMEC have climbed into the global top 20 by revenue, but they continue to struggle with the extreme precision required for sub-7nm manufacturing.
The most significant bottleneck remains advanced lithography, where domestic self-sufficiency is near 0%. Despite aggressive state investment and experimental trials by local firms, ASML maintains a functional monopoly on the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) systems essential for high-end AI chips. Consequently, ASML projects its China-derived revenue will contract to 20% in 2026 as export restrictions tighten and Chinese foundries digest previous massive stockpiles of older DUV tools. For investors, this creates a bifurcated landscape where China dominates the "mainstream" mature-node market while remaining tethered to Western lithography for the foreseeable future.
Sources (1)
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