China trials its first advanced tools for AI chipmaking (www.ft.com)

China has begun trialing its first domestically produced advanced semiconductor tools aimed at fabricating AI chips, a milestone toward reducing reliance on foreign equipment amid tightening export controls. The move signals Beijing’s push to build an end-to-end domestic supply chain for high-performance accelerators that power large models, testing classes of equipment such as lithography, etch/deposition, and inspection/metrology tools that are critical for sub‑micron process control. For the AI/ML community this matters because hardware availability and cost directly shape who can train and run large models. If China can mature these tools, it could accelerate local fabs’ ability to produce more AI accelerators, shorten supply-chain bottlenecks, and shift geopolitical leverage in chip technology. Technically, the trials are an early step — achieving competitive throughput, yield, and the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) capabilities used at leading nodes remains challenging — so expect incremental gains (improved DUV/advanced packaging, better process control and metrology) before parity. The broader implication is a slower but credible path to diversification of global AI hardware supply, with knock‑on effects for design toolchains, packaging ecosystems, and international export policy.