The full quote makes this clearer:
Semiconductor manufacturing equipment – such as the lithography tools that make the chips – is another field in which China significantly lags. The report cites one unnamed commentator who believes China could be five generations behind in this field.
Ezell warned that does not mean the US and allies can "rest on their laurels," else "they risk seeing a significant diminution of their industries."
IDK man the summary seems to disagree on the mains
I saw what you are referring to, and I'm choosing to believe (to save my braincells, I know its probably wrong) that she was worried about products used in cleaning the panels or ground leaching of chemicals used in the maintenance or manufacture of the panels.