• Korean memory-chip leaders test AMEC equipment at their China plants
• Firms seek a contingency option if US curbs hit Western-tool servicing
• Tests are not a commitment to deploy Chinese tools at scale
• A win would give Chinese suppliers a major global customer endorsement

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are evaluating chipmaking equipment from China's Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (AMEC) for possible ​use at their Chinese factories, three people familiar with the matter said, as the South Korean firms hedge against the risk of tighter U.S. export ‌controls.

The memory chipmakers began testing AMEC etching equipment about two years ago, when uncertainty was mounting over whether Washington would continue allowing them to import U.S. chipmaking tools into China, two of the sources said.