Core Viewpoint - Investment bank Goldman Sachs believes that Chinese lithography companies are at least 20 years behind their American counterparts in advanced lithography technology, which is a critical bottleneck in high-end chip manufacturing [2][4]. Group 1: Lithography Technology - Lithography is one of the steps in chip manufacturing, involving the transfer of chip designs from photomasks to silicon wafers. Advanced equipment like ASML's EUV and high numerical aperture EUV scanners can transfer smaller circuit patterns, enhancing chip performance [4]. - The report from Goldman Sachs emphasizes that ASML invested $40 billion over 20 years to transition from 65nm lithography to below 3nm technology, highlighting the significant time and capital required for such advancements [5]. Group 2: Current Industry Status - Leading chip manufacturers like Taiwan's TSMC are currently mass-producing 3nm chips and are accelerating the production of 2nm products, while Chinese lithography equipment manufacturers are still at the 65nm process stage [5]. - ASML's CEO, Christophe Fouquet, stated that due to the inability to obtain the most advanced EUV lithography equipment, Chinese companies lag behind industry giants like Intel, TSMC, and Samsung Electronics by approximately 10 to 15 years [5]. Group 3: Export Controls and International Relations - The U.S. government is pressuring ASML not to provide maintenance services for advanced DUV systems sold to China, in line with current sanctions against the Chinese semiconductor industry. However, the Dutch government has not agreed to these U.S. requests [6]. - ASML aims to retain control over its equipment to prevent sensitive information leaks, as allowing Chinese companies to take over maintenance could compromise this information [6].