Chinese semiconductor manufacturers have accumulated a significant fleet of immersion DUV lithography systems from ASML. By early 2026, local companies possessed approximately 343 such units, including 270 Twinscan NXT:1980i models. In 2024 and 2025 alone, Chinese firms acquired about 90 and 89 of these machines, respectively, with total spending exceeding $13 billion.
Although these systems are not as advanced as EUV lithography, they can be repurposed to manufacture 7-nm logic chips and HBM2e memory. This equipment is essential for producing components used in Huawei Ascend AI accelerators. Despite export restrictions introduced by the Netherlands since September 2023, some DUV models continue to be supplied to China under specific licensing conditions.
The scale of these acquisitions is reflected in ASML financial reports, where China accounted for 41% of net system sales in 2024 and 33% in 2025. In the first and second quarters of 2026, these figures dropped to 19% and 14%, respectively. Analysts from the Center for Technology and Statecraft note that this equipment allows China to maintain its chip production capabilities despite trade barriers.
Experts suggest that if imports continue, China could theoretically develop the capacity to produce AI chips equivalent to 434 million H100 units annually by 2035. If imports were to cease in 2027, this potential output would drop to 153 million. Former US officials Nicholas Brown and Saif Khan have proposed banning all immersion DUV exports to China to further restrict the country's technological advancement.
