SMIC has been around for years and at one point it look like it would overtake TSMC but TSMC managed to stay ahead helped by a US lawsuit and US sanctions. The

SMIC has been around for years and at one point it look like it would overtake TSMC but TSMC managed to stay ahead helped by a US lawsuit and US sanctions. The problem is that on free market it is more attractive for a Chinese chip designer to go for TSMC due to their maturity and reliability. Obviously the broadening US sanctions changes that and effectively acts as a massive boost of the domestic fab industry.