DECOUPLING: ASML Exits, China Screwed. “Western nations have an advanced, highly interconnected semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem that China doesn’t have the technical expertise to replicate. In particular, China has nothing like ASML’s extreme ultraviolet lithography machines (AKA a ‘stepper’) necessary to build the most advanced chips with the smallest feature geometries.”

Fascinating details at the link, but this one about the lithography machines China does have stood out: “Maintenance and upgrades for these machines are now completely restricted. In other words, starting next year these state-of-the-art [not quite – LP] lithography machines could become little more than scrap. To make matters worse, even repairs for older equipment are off the table.”