Can China’s chip ambitions reshape the global tech landscape?

The narrative around China's chip independence often focuses on its rapid progress, but the performance gap remains significant. Huawei's Kirin 9030 Pro, China's most advanced chip in late 2025, performed like a three-year-old Android flagship, according to SemiAnalysis. This suggests that despite substantial investment and a decade-long "Made in China 2025" plan, the country is still playing catch-up to global leaders like Apple and Samsung. The US export restrictions, which began with Huawei in 2019 and expanded to the entire semiconductor industry by 2022, have clearly impacted China's access to cutting-edge technology. The key for China now lies in technologies like immersion deep-ultraviolet (DUV). While DUV is not as advanced as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, which China lacks, it represents a viable path for SMIC to improve its manufacturing capabilities. The question for Asia's tech sector is how quickly SMIC can master and scale DUV production to close the performance gap, especially given the ongoing US sanctions. This will determine if China can genuinely challenge the global tech landscape or if its domestic chips will remain primarily for internal consumption with a performance lag.