According to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, YMTC plans to manufacture advanced flash memory chips using equipment sourced domestically in China. The plan is in response to U.S. export controls on China, restricting China's use of U.S.-made equipment to produce chips. During the visit of the South Korean President to the United States, he reached high-tech cooperation with the United States such as semiconductors, and repeatedly mentioned that the United States, Japan and South Korea strengthened cooperation, intended to target China's high-tech development, in this context, Yangtze River Storage plans to use domestic equipment, which is undoubtedly a great news for us!
YMTC has cooperated with Chinese suppliers to develop chips based on the Xtacking 3.0 architecture. According to an industry insider who did not want to be named, the D-grade JI project, code-named "Wdangshan", has made a breakthrough.
It is worth noting that Changjiang Storage has decided to only use equipment made in China to produce chips, and has placed large orders with Chinese domestic equipment suppliers including NAURA. NAURA is a leading manufacturer of etching tools in China, producing equipment similar to Lam's major product lines.
However, industry experts said that there is still a "stuck neck" problem in China's chip production supply chain, and the equipment produced in China still cannot effectively replace the measurement tools made by the American Kelei, nor can it replace the lithography machines produced by the Dutch ASML company or Japanese manufacturers.
This possible major breakthrough is significant. If successful, it would be a breakthrough for China to achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency. Changjiang Storage's use of domestically sourced equipment to make advanced flash memory chips means that Chinese chipmakers are taking a key step towards reducing their dependence on the international market. With the technological progress of China's domestic suppliers, the independent innovation and competitiveness of China's semiconductor industry will be further improved.
Nevertheless, China's semiconductor industry is still a certain distance from breaking the blockade between Europe and the United States and fully realizing localization. As industry experts have pointed out, China's chip production supply chain still relies on foreign technology in key links. For example, equipment produced in China is not yet an effective replacement for measurement tools made by the American company Klein, nor can it replace lithography machines made by ASML in the Netherlands or Japanese manufacturers. These devices play a key role in the chip manufacturing process, so full localization still needs work.
Although China's semiconductor industry still needs to make breakthroughs in key equipment and technology, Changjiang Storage's plan is undoubtedly a key breakthrough, which will help China consolidate and enhance its position in the global semiconductor market. China should continue to strengthen its independent innovation capabilities and strive to break the international technology blockade in response to the strategic pressure of the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries.