China has demonstrated 7nm production without EUV, stockpiled ninety advanced lithography machines, and invested hundreds of billions to semiconductor self-sufficiency. Yet the gap with TSMC is not closing — it is, in fact, in some critical dimensions, widening. From the very outlook, it appears to be an engineering problem, not a political one. — 15 min read August 2023 — stripdown of Huawei Mate 60 Pro sent shockwaves through the Western semiconductor and defence establishments. Inside the device was a Kirin 9000s chip — manufactured by SMIC at what appeared to be done by a 7nm processing node. At the time, SMIC was not supposed to be able to do that. Clearly, it appeared to be ahead of its time. EUV lithography machines, widely considered as prerequisite for sub-10nm production, had been blocked from export to China since 2019. The US intelligence community had apparently missed their mark. Thus, policy circles scrambled. The headlines flashed, declaring ...

Empires no longer arrive with armies. Yet, they do come. In modern days, with software, semiconductors, cloud platforms, and export controls. Implying, colonialism didn't disappear — it evolved into a much more sophisticated, invisible, and arguably more durable form of possession and control. — 12 min read Alexander the Great built one of history's largest empires in barely a decade. The Mongols forged the most expansive contiguous land empire the world had ever seen. The British Empire ruled so much of the planet that the sun supposedly never set on it. Separated by centuries, all such powers shared something in common: control something critical that others depend on, and the power shall follow. For most of history, that formula to control translated into professional armies, naval fleets, seaports, trade routes, and vast occupied territories under direct control. In-short, physical domination of the physical world persi...