Due to the global importance of semiconductor chips for high-tech development, several Chinese companies have begun  producing them. China’s largest chip manufacturer is Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC). Its co-CEO, Meng-Song Liang, announced last August that progress has been made in its attempts to manufacture  7 nanometer (nm) chips. Yet such chips are not small when compared to international firms that use Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines to make 5nm chips. Currently, SMIC’s most advanced manufacturing process is for 14nm chips. By comparison, Samsung and TSMC are mass producing the more desirable 5nm chips. This is achieved by their use of EUV machines that convert silicon wafers to transistors. China lacks this ability since the United States prevented them from obtaining EUV machines from ASML Holding NV of the Netherlands. It could take China approximately 10 years to finally have the production technology they need to catch up. SMIC is …