That's entirely true. They're also decades behind at this point. Chip design and fabrication is an iterative process - if you don't have access to high precision manufacturing capable of building the machines that fabricate the chips you can't fab. China can't build those machines today.

Again, it's simple to say on a whim that China can go from building a lot of cheap electronics to building very complex microprocessors. But that doesn't change the hurdles or the reality.

Also keep in mind that if anything gets in the way of developing these processes - more supply chain breakdown, access to raw materials required to fabricate processors is unavailable or constrained, or China is dealing with any other number of issues along that path it will only take longer. Then realize that during this period of time the rest of the processes are enhanced and iterated leaving China even further behind.

So at the time China can fabricate chips that are outdated today, the world will be 20+ years down the road from where we are right now. The more you dig into all of the things that are needed for China to catch up the more it's apparent that it very well may not happen.