Against the background of the announcement of the cancellation of the US license to export IT technologies to the Chinese tech giant Huawei, any equipment is being bought in the Middle Kingdom. We are talking about mass purchases by SMIC, HuaHong, Nexchip and Silan Microelectronics of any, even outdated equipment, for the production of semiconductors, writes Tomshardware.

Chip and chip manufacturers are in a hurry to buy up the currently available equipment so that production does not stop during the absolute sanctions. Most of all, the Chinese are interested in equipment and technologies for the production of silicon wafers — Wafer Fab Equipment (WFE), used for electronic devices.

Transactions for cleaning, cutting, grinding, doping, etching equipment are carried out secretly or with the help of dummy companies. Now, bypassing tough U.S. sanctions, Huawei continues to receive industrial tools to produce chips.

Experts note that SMIC, the largest chipmaker in China, is buying up not only advanced, but also outdated tools. They are used depending on the production processes. HuaHong and Nexchip specialize in outdated manufacturing technologies. Therefore, to maintain the functioning of their factories, they are satisfied even with used equipment.

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