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[global times reporter ni hao and global times special correspondent in the united states feng yaren] bloomberg news reported on august 29, citing anonymous insiders, that the dutch government plans to restrict asml from providing services for repairing and maintaining semiconductor equipment for chinese customers, resulting in some equipment being unable to operate as early as next year. this move may affect china's ability to develop the world's top chip industry. asml and the dutch government both declined to comment.

according to reports, some of asml's licenses to provide services and spare parts to china will expire at the end of this year, and the dutch government led by prime minister schof, who took office in july, is likely not to renew the relevant licenses, which are expected to involve the company's high-end deep ultraviolet lithography machines (duv). the dutch company produces the industry's most advanced semiconductor production equipment, and the equipment is sold with a maintenance agreement that is essential to maintain its normal operation. the withdrawal of this service support may cause at least some of the equipment to be unable to operate as early as next year.

bloomberg news stated that the dutch government's decision was made after pressure from the united states. a senior official of the biden administration said that if there is a disagreement with the united states on control measures against china, it is not ruled out that certain unilateral measures will be imposed on these allies, including the "foreign direct product rules" (fdpr) - even if a very small amount of foreign products are made using american technology, us officials can still control their flow.

bloomberg reported in march, citing people familiar with the matter, that the u.s. government was pressuring its allies, including the netherlands, germany, south korea and japan, to further tighten restrictions on china's access to semiconductor technology in order to plug loopholes in export controls implemented over the past two years. for example, people familiar with the matter said that the united states was urging the netherlands to prevent asml from repairing sensitive semiconductor manufacturing equipment, even though the equipment was purchased by chinese customers before the relevant restrictions were introduced.

bloomberg further stated in its latest report that the government led by former dutch prime minister rutte has resisted pressure from the united states to give more time to assess the impact of export restrictions on high-end semiconductor production equipment. but the current prime minister schof has sent a cautious signal. in an interview with bloomberg this month, he said that discussing national security issues with china must be "very cautious." when asked whether the dutch government is considering imposing new export restrictions this year, schof said that the dutch government has "negotiated smoothly" with the united states and japan and expects "good results in the end."

bloomberg news stated that without asml's duv equipment, it would be increasingly difficult for china's huawei and its partner smic to make breakthroughs in their existing capabilities. at the same time, the new restrictions in the netherlands are also likely to affect asml's sales, nearly half of which come from china. the media mentioned in a report in july that the restrictions on chip exports to china have put the us government in an awkward position. us companies believe that the relevant restrictions have harmed their interests and are pushing for changes. with only a few months to the us presidential election, us allies also believe that there is no reason to change the policy.

xiang ligang, chairman of the zhongguancun information consumption alliance, told the global times on the 30th that the united states is pressing the netherlands to take more targeted measures to restrict china's development of the semiconductor industry, which may bring new challenges to china's high-tech industry, but at the same time it will also inspire the determination and confidence of chinese companies and scientific research institutions to tackle core technologies. xiang ligang said that china's semiconductor industry is developing rapidly and has a strong demand for related production equipment. it is an important market for western companies such as asml. the united states, in the name of security, willfully split the global supply chain, which is bound to harm the interests of western companies themselves.