Semiconductor Wars: US vs China

[kankan326]

is it possible China possess tech to harvest rare earth and separate thorium?

No. China have been mining rare earth for decades. Technology is not key reason.

 

[ZeEa5KPul]

The situation is far from great, but it's not as bleak as the article you posted suggests. SMIC is starting 14nm production in 1H19. AMEC already produces an etcher that operates at 22nm and below. If things get bad enough, there's always the option of ignoring patents entirely and just straight-out copying designs.

AMEC also has this Primo Nanova etcher that's supposed to function at 5nm, but I haven't been able to find out anything about it more than the press release.