The GAO report on export controls states that the USG's practice and intent, *at least as early as in March 2001*, has been to keep Chinese semiconductor industry 2 generations behind SOTA. Today, "H200 but no EUV" is more like 3.5 generations. BigFund I, MIC2025: 2013, 2014.
It' another question whether those practices amounted to an efficient policy. Likewise, Big Fund was a disaster of stereotypically Chinese graft. The thing is, the Chinese efforts to get chips and American efforts to not let them both go back decades. Both are getting better.
I generally find it funny in hawks like Ryan and Rush, how they have this endearingly defensive attitude towards the USG. "Unfair! Our export controls were half-assed! Their industrial policy was for real! They brought a knife to a fist fight!" Well, yes, that's the point.
