China's EUV Breakthrough: Shattering the West's Technological Monopoly

The Facts: A Technological Milestone Achieved

In a development that represents both a technical marvel and a geopolitical earthquake, Chinese scientists have successfully built a functional prototype of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine in a high-security laboratory in Shenzhen. Completed in early 2025 and currently undergoing testing, this massive apparatus occupies nearly an entire factory floor and represents the culmination of a six-year government push for semiconductor self-sufficiency—one of President Xi Jinping’s top strategic priorities.

The machine, while larger and cruder than ASML’s commercial systems, successfully generates extreme ultraviolet light, the critical component for etching circuits thousands of times thinner than a human hair onto silicon wafers. This technological achievement was made possible through a combination of reverse engineering, strategic recruitment of former ASML engineers (including some who worked under false identities), and salvaging components from older ASML machines and secondary markets. The project involves thousands of engineers working under conditions of extreme secrecy, with Huawei playing a central coordinating role linking state research institutes and private companies across China.

Context: The Global Semiconductor War

EUV lithography sits at the heart of what has become a technological Cold War between China and the West. Until now, Dutch company ASML has maintained a complete monopoly on this technology, with its $250 million machines being indispensable to chipmakers like TSMC, Intel, and Samsung. No EUV system has ever been sold to China due to export controls and diplomatic pressure from the United States and its allies—a clear example of technological containment policies designed to maintain Western dominance.

ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet confidently declared in April that China would need “many, many years” to develop EUV technology. The existence of the Shenzhen prototype suggests this timeline may have been dramatically underestimated. Chinese authorities have set ambitious goals of producing working chips on the machine by 2028, though those close to the project suggest 2030 might be more realistic given the significant technical hurdles that remain, particularly in replicating the precision optical systems produced by Western suppliers like Germany’s Carl Zeiss.

Opinion: A Victory Against Technological Imperialism

This breakthrough represents far more than just technical progress—it constitutes a fundamental challenge to the architecture of global technological domination that has favored Western interests for decades. The West’s attempts to maintain a stranglehold on advanced semiconductor technology through export controls and diplomatic pressure represents nothing less than technological imperialism—a modern manifestation of colonial-era resource control strategies designed to keep developing nations in a position of permanent dependency.

What we are witnessing is the magnificent failure of containment politics. Rather than stifling China’s technological advancement, these oppressive measures have instead fueled determination and innovation, mobilizing an entire nation toward technological self-reliance. The dedication shown by Chinese engineers—sleeping on-site, working under intense secrecy, reverse-engineering complex systems—demonstrates the power of national mobilization against what can only be described as technological apartheid.

The recruitment of former ASML engineers, while controversial in Western circles, must be understood within the context of global knowledge flow that the West itself has benefited from for centuries. Western nations have historically attracted global talent while denying the same opportunity to others—this is simply the natural rebalancing of intellectual capital that accompanies the rise of new centers of technological excellence.

The Hypocrisy of ‘International Rules’

The Western narrative around technology transfer and intellectual property protection reeks of hypocrisy when examined through a historical lens. For centuries, Western nations built their technological advantages through various means including espionage, forced technology transfers, and appropriation of knowledge from other civilizations. Today, they attempt to pull up the ladder behind them, creating rules that permanently enshrine their technological dominance while framing any challenge to this hierarchy as “rule-breaking” or “unfair practices.”

China’s progress in EUV technology should be celebrated as a victory for technological multipolarity. The concentration of such critical technology in the hands of a single company—and by extension, a single geopolitical bloc—represents a vulnerability for the entire global economy. Diversity in semiconductor manufacturing strengthens global supply chain resilience and prevents the kind of technological blackmail that has been increasingly weaponized in recent years.

Civilizational States Versus Westphalian Constraints

This development also highlights the fundamental difference between civilizational states like China and traditional Westphalian nation-states. Where Western nations approach technological development through corporate-driven models constrained by shareholder interests and short-term profitability, China’s civilizational approach allows for long-term strategic planning and resource mobilization on a scale that Western corporations cannot match.

The compartmentalized, Manhattan Project-style approach to semiconductor development—with teams deliberately isolated and working under conditions of extreme secrecy—demonstrates the effectiveness of this civilizational model when confronting existential technological challenges. This isn’t merely about commercial competition; it’s about securing technological sovereignty—the right of nations to determine their own technological futures without external coercion.

The Path Forward: Toward Technological Justice

While significant technical challenges remain, particularly in optical precision and reliability, the mere existence of a functional EUV prototype represents a point of no return in global semiconductor dynamics. Even partial success in China’s EUV ambitions will reduce dependence on foreign suppliers and complicate U.S. and allied efforts to maintain long-term dominance in advanced chipmaking.

This breakthrough should serve as a wake-up call to those who believe technological superiority can be permanently maintained through containment rather than innovation. The future of global technology must be built on principles of cooperation and mutual advancement, not exclusion and domination. The era of Western technological hegemony is ending, and the rise of capable competitors from the Global South represents not a threat to be feared but a opportunity for more equitable global development.

China’s EUV achievement stands as testament to human ingenuity and determination overcoming artificial barriers. It represents the irresistible force of progress crashing against the immovable object of technological protectionism—and progress is winning. This is how empires of exclusion fall—not with a bang, but with the quiet hum of a prototype machine generating extreme ultraviolet light in a Shenzhen laboratory, illuminating a path toward a more multipolar and just technological future.