One of China’s leading semiconductor equipment makers is capable of producing some of the world’s most advanced chipmaking tools, according to an interview with the company’s chairman which aired on Sunday.

Gerald Yin Zhiyao of Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (Amec), who is also the company’s founder, told state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) its plasma-etching technology had become an industry standard and been adopted by major international rivals.

The company’s etching systems currently cover node processes ranging from mature 65-nanometre chips to advanced 5nm and 3nm nodes, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, uses some products in its supply chain, he said.

Efforts by home-grown giants like Amec to advance their technology underscore China’s push towards semiconductor self-reliance. As tightening US restrictions threaten to cut Chinese tech firms from Western and Japanese supply chains, domestic chipmakers are swapping out foreign tools for local alternatives.

Founded in 2004, Amec has emerged as a key pillar in China’s semiconductor equipment sector. The company has developed domestic alternatives for 17 categories of manufacturing equipment previously dominated by foreign suppliers.

Its metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) business – which makes high-precision printers that use chemical gases to bake thin layers of crystals onto semiconductor wafers – has gained significant global market share in recent years, according to public disclosures by the company.