China wants to make its own chip-making lasers

Chinese researchers are racing to develop a homegrown extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source, a key chip-making technology that can help etch electronic pathways on the most-advanced silicon microchips.

• Beijing is pushing universities and companies to move China toward tech independence as the U.S., Japan and the Netherlands cut the country off of the world’s most advanced semiconductor equipment.
• But the challenges of building an EUV light source are enormous — and it’s just one piece of a much more complex EUV machine, a piece of tech that only one company, Dutch ASML, has made commercially viable.

But Chinese engineers are getting a little help from one U.S. firm, KMLabs, even as the the Biden Administration has moved aggressively to cordon off top semiconductor tech.

• Researchers at Tsinghua and Nanjing Universities, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have bought EUV light source tech from Boulder, Colorado-based KMLabs.
• While KMLabs’ light source isn’t itself viable for chip-making, and not subject to export controls, it can help researchers move forward on their fundamental research.

Click here for all the details.

Eduardo Jaramillo

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

China is struggling with the aftermath of record flooding in and around Beijing, with the death toll in Beijing at nine, and in Hebei province at 11, and with many more people still missing. 

Many more have been evacuated, with over 1.2 million people in Hebei moved to safety. Some officials have taken flak for suggesting that Hebei residents should sacrifice their safety for the sake of Beijing and other major cities. Hebei’s top Communist Party Official Ní Yuèfēng 倪岳峰 told Hebei residents that their province should serve as a moat for the capital, leading to online criticism. Other Hebei authorities had made similar comments before the disaster, stating that ensuring the safety of Beijing, Tianjin, and the new city of Xiong’an was the top priority.

China has agreed in principle to sending its new Foreign Minister, Wáng Yì 王毅, to the U.S. to meet with counterparts. The U.S. State Department yesterday invited Wang, who replaced missing former Foreign Minister Qín Gāng 秦刚, yesterday. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s announcement came after the U.S. State Department raised concerns over China’s new anti-espionage law, and the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee announced an investigation into suspected Chinese hacks of the State and Commerce Departments’ email systems.

China’s top leaders have begun their summer meetings in the seaside town of Beidaihe, where Xí Jìnpíng’s 习近平 Chief of Staff and number five top Party official Cài Qí 蔡奇 gave a speech to some of China’s top researchers and scientists. A brief report from state news agency Xinhua on the meeting was the first public record of meetings in Beidaihe since 2019, when COVID-19 disrupted the secretive gathering.

Chinese state media: Party rag the People’s Daily’s print edition today highlights the same story that Xinhua’s English website has used as its top story for more than 24 hours: new translations of selected works of Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 into seven ethnic minority languages: Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, Kazakh, Korean, Yi and Zhuang.

Xinhua’s English site today also has a video captioned “In the eyes of Egyptian sinologist Mohsen Fergani, Chinese President Xi Jinping is well-versed in Chinese literature and poetry. The classic quotes in his speeches are gorgeous and vivid.” 

Xinhua’s Chinese website today leads with a piece titled “Constantly climb new ideological peaks — comment on the in-depth study and comprehensive implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.”

July marks a decade of cooperation in the $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

• Abbreviated to CPEC, it is a vast infrastructure development scheme, and key spoke in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

Chinese Vice Premier Hé Lìfēng 何立峰 is in Pakistan this week to celebrate, bearing a letter of congratulations from Xí Jìnpíng 习近平. 

• Yesterday, in the capital, Islamabad, He called for “an upgrading of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to promote a closer China-Pakistan community.” 
• Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif responded in a speech expressing his appreciation “to President Xi for attaching great importance to Pakistan-China ties and CPEC.”

But CPEC is delayed by political turmoil in Islamabad and separatist violence in the region where its big projects lie. Akbar Notezai reports from the fractious province of Balochistan. 

Akbar Notezai

Mamatjan Juma is Deputy Director of the Uyghur Service of Radio Free Asia. He is also an accomplished painter.

• Juma was taught socialist realist techniques at Xinjiang Arts College, but after moving to the U.S. in 2006, he expanded his palette and his toolbox of techniques. 
• He now paints turmoil and pain in abstract expressionist works that shed the constraints of socialist realism, which he told The China Project, he considers a rebellion against Communist ideology that led to the oppression of many of his fellow Turkic Muslim people.

This week’s Uyghur Buletin by Ruth Ingram is a brief biography of Juma and a look at some of his works. 

Ruth Ingram

• The adventurous novelist Sanmao went against the stereotypes of her time. The original Chinese-language edition of her “Stories of the Sahara” was a bestseller in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and throughout China, with the author representing a very different type of Chinese woman, Paul French writes.

Below are links from our NewsBase to other noteworthy reports published in the last 24 hours from and about China.

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Electric vehicles
Toyota to ramp up electric car push in China with R&D revamp / Caixin (paywall)
“Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest car seller, has announced plans to consolidate its research and development (R&D) resources in China and ramp up its focus on electric vehicles (EVs), as it attempts to revive stalling sales in the highly competitive market.”
Ford hands local JV the wheel to China electric car unit / Caixin (paywall)
“Ford Motor Co.’s China joint venture (JV) with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd. has taken over the operations of the U.S. auto giant’s electric vehicle (EV) unit, Ford Mustang Mach-E, in the country amid weak sales in the highly competitive market.”

Superconductors
China, Korea tech stocks rally after superconductor breakthrough buzz / Caixin (paywall)
“Claims about a breakthrough in superconductor technology that could revolutionize the power, transportation and chip industries have sparked surges in some Korean and Chinese stocks even as scientists remain dubious.”

AI
China’s Tencent says it is expanding testing of ‘Hunyuan’ AI model / Reuters
“China’s Tencent Holdings said on Thursday that it has started internal testing of its self-developed artificial intelligence (AI) model, which is now being integrated with a number of internal services and products.”
How China is fast-tracking high-speed rail with AI-powered builders / SCMP (paywall)
“AI-powered machines are taking on some of hardest jobs on the world’s largest high-speed railway network.”
China’s Xi prepares for the worst with drones, hypersonic weapons / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China is seeking advances in artificial intelligence-powered drones and hypersonic weapons in a broader military buildup, as President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 prepares the country for ‘extreme’ scenarios.”

Exports and de-risking
China trade: U.S., EU de-risking isn’t going away, ‘the worst is yet to come’ for exports / SCMP (paywall)
“While the widespread reach of a global economic slowdown is seen as the primary reason behind China’s sharp drop in exports, economists and trade experts warn that the impact of ‘de-risking’ efforts by developed countries cannot be underestimated, as ‘the worst is yet to come.’”

Drone export controls
Chinese drone makers mum over fallout from Beijing’s export controls targeting military use of unmanned aerial vehicles / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese drone makers have largely refrained from publicly commenting on the possible fallout from Beijing’s new export curbs on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with potential military applications, with only the world’s largest drone maker offering a curt statement.”

Domestic IPOs
China IPOs boom with Beijing’s double-edged involvement / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China is increasingly counting on its stock market to boost the country’s startup scene, as Beijing seeks an edge in its rivalry with the U.S. on semiconductors and other technological fields.”

Data regulation
China to make holders of more than 1 mln users’ data get annual audits / Reuters
“China’s cyberspace regulator issued on Thursday draft rules requiring service providers that hold data on more than 1 million people to undergo at least one compliance audit a year, another step in efforts to control data and information.”

Travel
China’s latest problem: People don’t want to go there / WSJ (paywall)
“Half a year after China lifted COVID-19 restrictions and reopened its borders, few international travelers are coming—another sign of decoupling between China and the West that could have negative repercussions for a long time.”

Development and real estate
China to make it easier for citizens to settle in small and medium cities / Reuters
“China will relax restrictions for its citizens hoping to permanently settle in small and medium sized cities, state media reported on Thursday, but changes in the biggest cities such as the capital Beijing will be more limited.”
‘Buy one floor, get one free’: China’s real estate slump deepens / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Real estate and its broad range of related industries generate an estimated 30% or so of China’s gross domestic product. Though this drove rapid growth when demand was strong, it is now weighing heavily on the economy.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Research funding
Xi Jinping pledges more funding and support for research in face of international competition / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 has pledged to boost investment and support for research into scientific fundamentals, saying the country must achieve technological self-reliance.”

Extreme weather
Flooded rivers, trapped residents test China’s disaster response / Reuters
“From coping with dangerously swollen rivers to helping residents trapped in waterlogged cities, China’s disaster-response systems are being put to the test after one of the strongest storms in years brought record rainfall that could take weeks to recede.”
‘The capital’s moat’: thousands forced from homes in China’s Hebei province to ease flooding in Beijing / SCMP (paywall)
North China city pleads for emergency aid after flood / Caixin (paywall)
China officials’ call to save Xi’s projects angers flood victims / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Residents of areas hit hard by recent flooding in northern China have taken aim at a key Communist Party official, saying he sacrificed their safety to protect President Xi Jinping’s flagship projects.”

Hospitals
In Northeast China, a new ‘fangcang’ hospital sparks public uproar / Sixth Tone
“During the pandemic, hundreds of temporary fangcang hospitals were built to meet urgent needs. The proposed construction of a new one has raised concerns about the necessity of building hospitals designed for emergencies.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

U.S.-China competition and tensions
China says it is willing to keep talking with U.S. on foreign minister visit / Reuters
“China said on Thursday that it is ‘willing to maintain communications’ with the United States on a possible future visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 to Washington, D.C.”
U.S. raises concerns over China’s counter-espionage push / Reuters
“The United States on Wednesday raised concerns over a Chinese call to encourage its citizens to join counter-espionage work and said it has been closely monitoring the implementation of Beijing’s expanded anti-spying law.”
U.S. House probes suspected Chinese hacking of government emails / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee said on Wednesday it is opening an investigation into China’s suspected involvement in recent breaches of Commerce and State department email systems.”

Japan
Japan’s prized abalone now a target of Chinese politics / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Beijing’s hard line on Fukushima water is upsetting fishermen of kippin, a hidden delicacy.”

Niger
Who benefits from Niger’s coup? / Foreign Policy (paywall)
“Most global powers with a military presence or financial stake in the country stand to lose from instability—and that could put pressure on the military junta.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Soccer
Charged with five crimes, ex-head coach of China’s national soccer team will stand trial in Hubei / Caixin (paywall)
“The former head coach of the Chinese national men’s soccer team has been charged in Hubei province with five crimes including bribery as China’s wide-ranging campaign against corruption in the sport continues.”

Literature
The art of telling forbidden stories in China / NYT (paywall)
“Many writers are looking for ways to capture the everyday realities that the government keeps hidden — sometimes at their own peril.”

Dance
In China’s dance schools, a dangerous obsession with weight loss / Sixth Tone
“In China’s elite dance schools, students are facing ever greater pressure to lose weight, with coaches urging them to become ‘as thin as lightning.’ The result: a troubling rise in cases of anxiety, eating disorders, and other mental health issues.”