US President Joe Biden’s administration plans to press the Netherlands next week to stop its top chipmaking equipment maker, ASML Holding NV, from servicing some tools in China, two people familiar with the matter said.
US Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez is scheduled to meet in the Netherlands on Monday with officials from the Dutch government and ASML to discuss the servicing contracts, the people said.
Washington might also be seeking to add to a list of Chinese chipmaking factories restricted from receiving Dutch equipment as part of the discussions, one of the people said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the upcoming meeting, but did not elaborate on which topics would be on the agenda.
“The Netherlands always has good discussions with our partners. The meeting of officials on Monday is one example of that,” the ministry said.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said that Beijing opposes the US’ “overstretching” of the concept of national security and use of “pretexts to coerce other countries into joining its technological blockade against China.”
The US Department of Commerce and ASML, whose shares briefly fell after the news, declined to comment.
The meeting is Washington’s latest move to convince allies to join US efforts to further crack down on Beijing’s ability to produce cutting-edge chips.
Last year, sanctioned Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co (華為) shocked the world with a new phone powered by a sophisticated chip. The Huawei Mate 60 Pro was seen as a symbol of China’s technological resurgence despite Washington’s ongoing efforts to cripple its capacity to produce advanced semiconductors.
Chip-related exports to China are vital for its economy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) this week complained to Biden about US efforts to block some US technologies, including advanced semiconductors, saying it hindered China’s development.
Restrictions on servicing ASML machines could be particularly painful given that the large and expensive tools require constant maintenance.
China was ASML’s second-largest market by sales last year (29 percent), after Taiwan.
Last year, Japan and the Netherlands joined a US effort to keep some chipmaking technology from China for national security reasons.
The Dutch government began restricting some deep ultraviolet equipment for Chinese customers and partially revoked one license, affecting a small number of customers in China, ASML said.
However, the Dutch restrictions did not go as far as US rules, which barred American firms from servicing equipment at advanced Chinese factories.
Estevez has said publicly that the US is asking allies to stop local companies from servicing some chipmaking tools for Chinese customers.
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