China Semiconductor AI Chips Project: During the Second World War, when Japan and Germany were on the rise. Even together, the Western powers were not able to gain control over Japan. Considering the situation, America was working on a secret plan. It was named ‘Manhattan Project’. Under this, America achieved success in making the atom bomb. When Japan attacked America’s Pearl Harbor, America dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When mushroom like flames came out from the explosion, Japan’s plans were burnt to ashes. At the same time, America’s morale went sky high. Similarly, China has now surprised all the western powers including Washington by launching its ‘Manhattan Project’. China’s engineers and scientists have done what America had tried to prevent. America kept trying to stop China for years and Beijing kept struggling to move forward for decades. Finally, Dragon did what is currently the monopoly of America and Western Powers. China has succeeded in developing a cutting edge semiconductor chip manufacturing machine. This machine was developed in the beginning of the year 2025 and is now being tested. Semiconductor chip is the power which will give more strength to AI technology. The path to manufacturing ultra modern fighter jets, missiles and smartphones will become easier. Not only this, with its help China will not only be able to destroy fighter jets and missiles but will also be able to jam them in the middle of the mission.
According to the report of ‘Reuters’, in a high-security lab in Shenzhen, China has done the work which America and its allies were trying to stop for years. Here Chinese scientists have prepared a prototype of a machine which is considered capable of making state-of-the-art semiconductor chips. These chips are the backbone of Artificial Intelligence (AI), smartphones and modern weapons. This prototype was completed in early 2025 and is now undergoing testing. This machine is so big that it occupies almost one floor of the entire factory. According to the report, it has been prepared by a team of engineers who have previously worked in the Netherlands-based giant ASML. ASML is the only company in the world which manufactures state-of-the-art EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) Lithography machines. These engineers have created this prototype by understanding the technology of ASML through reverse-engineering. EUV machines are at the center of today’s technological cold war. These machines engrave circuits on silicon wafers with very fine ultraviolet rays. These circuits are thousands of times thinner than a human hair. The smaller the circuits, the more powerful the chip becomes. Till now only western countries had this capability.
Why are semiconductor chips so important?
- The soul of every modern technology: Mobile phones, computers, laptops, TVs, washing machines, cars and smart devices – everything runs on semiconductor chips. Without these no electronic device can work.
- Backbone of the Digital and AI Age: Modern systems like Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G networks, cloud computing and data centers depend on fast and powerful chips. The better the chip, the faster the technology.
- Necessary in the security and defense of the country: Semiconductor chips play a big role in missile systems, radar, fighter jets, drones and cyber security. Therefore, shortage of chips can directly affect national security.
- Matters related to economic development and industry: Automobile, mobile, electronics and IT industries depend on chips. Stopping the supply of chips can lead to closure of factories and loss to the economy.
- Technological self-reliance and global strength: The country which makes its own chips is self-reliant in technology and is less dependent on other countries. For this reason, countries like America, China and India are laying special emphasis on semiconductors.
China went ahead of expectations
According to sources, this Chinese machine has been successful in producing EUV rays or lights, but the chip that works with it has not been prepared yet. In April 2025, ASML CEO Christophe Fuchs had said that it would take ‘many years’ for China to develop such technology, but the emergence of this prototype clearly shows that China is moving towards semiconductor self-sufficiency faster than expected. However, the challenges are still not less. The biggest problem is to copy the highly accurate optical systems made by Western companies. Nevertheless, availability of parts of old ASML machines from the secondary market helped China in making this prototype. The government’s goal is to prepare a chip that works with this machine by 2028, but people associated with the project consider 2030 as a more realistic deadline. Despite this, this is a time which is much earlier than experts had estimated.
President Xi Jinping’s dream and ‘Manhattan Project’
This success is the result of China’s six-year-old government initiative, whose aim is to become self-reliant in semiconductors. This is included in the top priorities of President Xi Jinping. While China’s semiconductor goals have been public, Shenzhen’s EUV project has been kept a closely guarded secret. This project is being run under the Central Science and Technology Commission of the Communist Party of China, whose command is said to be in the hands of Ding Xiuxiang, a close aide of Xi Jinping. Chinese tech giant Huawei plays an important role in this entire network. Huawei is working to connect companies and government research institutes across the country. Thousands of engineers are engaged in this mission. This is being called China’s ‘Manhattan Project’, just like America did to make the atomic bomb during the Second World War. According to a source, the goal is clear – China wants to make advanced chips that are completely manufactured on indigenous machines and are completely independent from the American supply chain.
China Semiconductor AI Chips Project: America was trying for years to prevent China from developing cutting edge semiconductor chip making machines. President Xi Jinping treated it like a national project and Beijing was ultimately successful in it. (File photo/AP)
Why is China’s success historic?
Till now only ASML has mastered EUV technology. The cost of one machine is around 25 crore dollars. The most advanced chips designed by companies like Nvidia and AMD are made from these machines, which are manufactured by companies like TSMC, Intel and Samsung. ASML built the first prototype of EUV in 2001 and produced the first commercial chip in 2019 after nearly two decades and billions of euros of research. From the year 2018, America started putting pressure on Netherlands to stop ASML from selling EUV machines to China. In the year 2022, the Biden government implemented strict export controls. The result was that till date not a single EUV machine has been sold to China. The purpose of these restrictions was to keep China at least one generation behind in chip technology.
How did China get success?
Despite this, China adopted a different path. According to the report, many former ASML engineers involved in this project were given fake identity cards. He was not even allowed to use his real name. No one outside the lab knew what was going on inside. The team includes retired, Chinese-origin scientists and engineers who have sensitive technical knowledge. China began an aggressive campaign in 2019 to attract semiconductor experts working abroad. In this, signing bonuses worth millions of dollars and even subsidies for buying houses were given. Institutes like Shanghai Institute of Optics have also filed several patents related to EUV.
no news at all
This prototype, made in Shenzhen, is larger and less upgraded than ASML’s machines, but is working for testing. The biggest hurdle remains high-quality optics, made by companies like Germany’s Zeiss. Nevertheless, China’s research institutes are gradually developing domestic alternatives. Huawei employees are working day and night for this mission. Many engineers sleep in factories and research centres. Phone calls have been limited to sensitive teams. Even internally, the teams have been kept separate from each other, so that confidentiality is maintained.
Fighter jets and missiles will be destroyed at the press of a button
Now the question arises that how will China, which has acquired this technology, destroy or jam the fighter jets or missiles operating thousands of kilometers away from home? In fact, at present America and other western countries have a monopoly on state-of-the-art semiconductor chips. All the countries of the world use it. In this way, remote control of semiconductor chips remains with the parent companies. Modern chips are used in everything from fighter jets to missiles, most of which are from American or European companies. In such a situation, these companies can scrap the fighter jets and missiles as per their wish whenever they want. Now assume that in future, China will also export cutting edge semiconductor chips on a large scale, which will be used in defense as well as other sectors. In this way Chinese control will also be established on it. Overall, this ‘Manhattan Project’ of China is not just a technological achievement but also a step challenging the global balance of power. If China succeeds in EUV technology, the world of semiconductors could completely change in the coming decade.
