Huawei is investing in domestic manufacturers of deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography equipment, acting as the central coordinator in China’s semiconductor self-sufficiency strategy. Shanghai Yuliangsheng targets 12 advanced DUV units by the end of 2026, currently being tested at SMIC and Huawei facilities. The company has invested in Qiqi Photon and Keyihongyuan to develop the most technically demanding components: projection lenses and high-power light sources. Huawei aims to produce approximately 600,000 Ascend 910C AI chips by 2026, requiring reliable access to fabrication equipment. The reliance on Zeiss optics remains a critical vulnerability, with US export restrictions on ASML’s EUV tools having limited SMIC to around 7nm-class processes.
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