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The U.S. technology blockade and sanctions have unexpectedly emerged as catalysts for China's push towards semiconductor independence. Despite years of sanctions imposed by the U.S. government on China's semiconductor industry, Chinese enterprises have successfully developed a complete chip autonomous supply chain under pressure, gradually establishing an industrial model of 'Made in China, serving the Chinese market.'

Experts indicate that by strengthening the local supply chain, Chinese enterprises not only secure stable profits in the domestic market but also accelerate their capability for independent research and development ranging from materials to processing and end products. In a recent interview with CNN, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates stated that the U.S. chip ban would not hinder China's development, but rather unleash an astonishing will to innovate independently among Chinese companies.

Gates emphasized the all-out technological breakthroughs that Chinese companies are initiating in the semiconductor and chip fields. For instance, Huawei has launched its own ecosystem, Harmony OS, under U.S. limitations, achieving cross-platform operation from smartphones and wearable devices to laptops, becoming the second tech company globally, after Apple, to streamline the underlying architecture and effectively compete against Windows and Mac OS.

Peter Wennink, the former CEO of ASML, has repeatedly urged the U.S. government to ease restrictions on China. He pointed out that U.S. sanctions not only harm the commercial interests of the U.S. and its allies in the Chinese market, but may also accelerate the substitution of Chinese semiconductor technology. Similarly, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang candidly stated at the 2025 Taipei Computex that the U.S. semiconductor sanctions against China are a misguided decision, hindering long-term benefits for the U.S. while underestimating the vast potential of the Chinese chip market.

Martin van den Brink, CTO of ASML, highlighted that the U.S. policy has disrupted the company's collaboration model with China, which will force China to vigorously support domestic exposure equipment manufacturers like Shanghai Micro Electronics (SMEE) to accelerate technological breakthroughs. This poses a significant threat to ASML and other American companies.

As restrictions on external advanced equipment sources increase, China opts to concentrate resources on developing domestic exposure technology and fully promote the industrial chain supported by Chinese manufacturing for the Chinese market. The former CTO of TSMC, Yang Guanglei, also indicated that China's market size is sufficiently large to support a complete independent semiconductor industry system. By steadily cultivating the domestic market without competing directly with Europe and the United States, there will be opportunities for Chinese chips to be exported abroad in the future and to establish global influence.