under pressure from the united states, the netherlands "tightens up" asml's lithography machines, and japan and south korea are also under pressure step by step
2024-09-14
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
"it is becoming increasingly difficult to prove that this matter is related to national security." according to a reuters report quoted by reference news on september 5, christophe fouquet, ceo of dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer asml, said at a conference in new york recently that over time, the us-led restrictions on asml's exports to china in the name of "national security" have become more like "economic motives."
two months ago, peter wenninck, the former ceo of asml who retired earlier this year, told dutch media that the sino-us "chip war" was mainly ideological rather than based on substance and practice, and that the united states was increasingly squeezing the company to restrict exports to china.
asml, located in the small town of veldhoven in southern netherlands, is currently the world's largest lithography machine manufacturer and the undisputed industry leader in the winner-takes-all field of "lithography". as technology competition becomes increasingly fierce, asml's export direction and the attitude of the dutch government have attracted attention from all parties.
on september 6, the dutch government announced that it would expand the scope of lithography export control to include immersion deep ultraviolet lithography equipment. this is in line with the export control policy of advanced chip manufacturing technology updated by the united states in october last year. previously, the dutch government's export restrictions on lithography equipment were not so strict, but two models of asml's immersion deep ultraviolet lithography equipment were included in the us export control list, and the export of related chip equipment required authorization from the united states.
however, from now on, the dutch government has tightened its export restrictions on lithography machines. if asml wants to export twinscan nxt: 1970i and 1980i immersion duv lithography systems to china, it needs to apply for an export license from the dutch government first. the more advanced extreme ultraviolet (euv) lithography machines have long been completely banned from export to china. in addition, according to reuters, the dutch government said on september 10 that asml needs to apply for a license to repair some equipment in china.
a spokesperson for china's ministry of commerce said on the 8th that china and the netherlands have recently conducted multi-level and multi-frequency communications and consultations on the issue of semiconductor export control. the netherlands has further expanded the scope of control on lithography machines on the basis of the 2023 semiconductor export control measures, and china is dissatisfied with this.
in addition to the netherlands, japan and south korea are also making difficult trade-offs. according to a report by the global times on september 11, citing the korea herald, the united states is asking south korean chip manufacturers to provide advanced chips such as high-bandwidth memory (hbm) to south korean allies rather than china and other countries, which has caused concerns among south korean companies. according to a report by bloomberg on the 2nd, the united states has been pressuring japan to impose more restrictions on the export of high-performance semiconductor manufacturing equipment to china by companies such as tokyo electron. according to people familiar with the matter, china recently warned japan that if japan further strengthens export controls on high-performance semiconductor manufacturing equipment to china, china will counter with "harsh economic measures."
what do asml and the dutch government think?
"asml is an extremely important innovative industry for the netherlands and should not be affected under any circumstances, as this would damage asml's global position." on august 30, dutch prime minister dick schofe told the media that the company's economic interests would be considered when deciding to further tighten exports of asml chip manufacturing equipment to china. the financial report shows that china has become asml's second largest market in 2023.
however, a few days later, the dutch government announced that it would expand the scope of export controls on lithography machines.
renette kleve, the dutch minister for foreign trade and development who is primarily responsible for export control policy, said the decision was made for security reasons. "we see that technological advances have led to increased security risks associated with the export of this particular manufacturing equipment, especially in the current geopolitical context," she said.
schof, who just took office as prime minister of the netherlands in july this year, said in an interview with bloomberg on the day of his inauguration that the united states is a trustworthy partner of the netherlands and this partnership is very important.
tian dewen, deputy director of the institute of russian, east european and central asian studies of the chinese academy of social sciences, pointed out to the paper (www.thepaper.cn) that even asml, although located in the netherlands, is not actually a completely dutch company, as control over both technology and property rights is held in the hands of the united states.
as a semiconductor powerhouse, the netherlands is one of the few countries in the world with a complete "vertical chip supply chain." statistics released by the netherlands foreign investment agency on january 30 showed that dutch companies account for 33% of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment market, with asml, nxp and besi dominating.
but in fact, although asml's lithography equipment is mainly assembled in the netherlands, its key components come from suppliers in the united states, germany, japan, and taiwan, some of which also rely on key equipment produced in the united states. moreover, as the only lithography machine manufacturer in the world that uses euv (extreme ultraviolet light), asml is commercializing a technology first developed by a us national laboratory, which is mainly funded by intel. rené regemeck, author of "lithography giant: the rise of asml", once bluntly stated that asml is half european and half american, and its major shareholders are also americans.
from the perspective of the dutch government, tian dewen believes that it wants to appear to be "assuming more moral responsibilities" within the western bloc and hopes to be appreciated by all western parties. taking measures to expand the scope of export controls on lithography machines can improve its "moral status", so it even appears to be more radical than the european union.
according to the us website politico, in the first half of last year, the netherlands decided to coordinate chip technology export controls with the united states and japan, which marginalized other eu member states and europe's own chip industry. after the netherlands imposed additional export controls on advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment in september last year, it prompted other eu countries to speed up the coordination of export controls.
in january this year, asml's then-ceo wenninck urged europe to unite to deal with the us's trade measures against china. he said, "we should have one european export control standard, not 27."
according to reuters, the european semiconductor industry association (esia) also issued a statement recently urging the eu to strengthen its support for the chip industry, emphasizing the need to reduce export restrictions and speed up the distribution of financial assistance.
during the pandemic, europe has experienced a shortage of semiconductors due to its over-reliance on the asian supply chain, so it is vigorously promoting the development of the chip manufacturing industry and the diversification of chip supply chain channels. the chip act, which came into effect in november 2023, mentioned that the eu will raise 43 billion euros in public and private funds, with the goal of doubling the eu's share of the global semiconductor market by 2030, from the current 10% to at least 20%.
major projects under the european chip act include tsmc's factory in dresden, germany, and intel's project in magdeburg, germany. according to a reuters report on september 5, tsmc's factory in dresden just started construction last month, while intel's project in magdeburg has not yet received eu subsidy approval, and intel has announced in july this year that it will suspend chip industry investment in france and italy due to heavy losses. a recent survey by the german think tank interface shows that europe may not be able to achieve its set goals as planned, and has not captured 15% of the global market share in 40 years.
squeezed japan and south korea
it is not just the netherlands that is under pressure from the united states, but also japan and south korea. according to a bloomberg report in july, the united states further pressured japan and the netherlands, warning that if companies such as japan's tokyo electron and the netherlands' asml continue to provide advanced semiconductor technology to china, it will consider taking the most stringent export control measures against these companies.
under pressure from the united states, japan has been tightening its semiconductor technology exports step by step. in july last year, japan's new rules restricting the export of semiconductor manufacturing equipment officially came into effect, restricting the export of 23 types of high-performance semiconductor manufacturing equipment. when japan exports these equipment to mainland china, it needs a separate license from the minister of economy, trade and industry. in april this year, the ministry of economy, trade and industry of japan announced that four technology categories related to semiconductors and quantum will be included in the scope of export control, and these technologies must obtain official permission in advance when exported to all countries and regions.
regarding japan's plan to tighten export controls in areas such as semiconductors, a spokesperson for china's ministry of commerce said in april that china expresses serious concern and that the relevant measures proposed by japan will seriously affect normal trade exchanges between chinese and japanese companies.
after world war ii, japanese semiconductors were built from scratch with the support of the united states. in the 1980s, japanese semiconductor companies rose rapidly. in the lithography industry, canon and nikon were market leaders. however, due to the us-japan trade friction, the united states suppressed japanese chips and excluded japanese companies as partners. asml was regarded by american companies as a substitute for nikon and canon because of its neutral position. now, japanese and dutch companies are once again squeezed by the united states.
according to the new york times, in january 2023, japan and the netherlands reached an agreement after a high-level meeting with us national security officials in washington, and both countries agreed to join the united states in banning the export of some of the most advanced semiconductor equipment to china. emily benson, a senior researcher at the washington think tank center for strategic and international studies, said that the netherlands and japan are worried that if they withdraw from the chinese market, foreign competitors will take their place, which may affect their ability to maintain technological advantages over their competitors.
south korea is also in a similar predicament. according to yonhap news agency, initially, the netherlands and japan, which have higher levels of semiconductor technology, were the targets of us pressure, but since the second half of last year, the us has been increasingly pressuring south korea, even naming specific south korean companies and posing a problem with south korea's semiconductor equipment exports to china.
according to south korea's dong-a ilbo, alan estevez, the u.s. department of commerce's under secretary for industry and security, said at the u.s.-south korea economic and security meeting on september 10 that high-bandwidth memory (hbm) produced by south korean companies should be supplied to the united states and its allies rather than to china.
"it is very important for allies to participate in export controls on china." estevez said that there are three companies in the world that manufacture hbm, two of which are korean companies, and it is important to develop and utilize these capabilities to meet our own needs and those of our allies.
as a high-performance memory chip, hbm is a core product that supports semiconductor drive for artificial intelligence. according to the korea herald, a researcher at the korea institute for industrial economics and trade said, "unlike japan and the netherlands, south korea cannot 100% align with us export control measures because it is highly dependent on exports to china."
"the united states is asking us to negotiate on these issues," chung in-kyo, director-general of the trade negotiations bureau of the south korean ministry of trade, industry and energy, told south korean media after attending the u.s.-south korea economic and security meeting. in an interview with bloomberg earlier in september, he expressed the hope that the united states would provide more flexible incentives to encourage south korea to comply with the additional restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports to china that the united states is considering.
at the end of last month, wang yi, member of the political bureau of the cpc central committee and director of the central foreign affairs office, pointed out in a new round of strategic communication with us president's national security advisor sullivan that national security needs to have clear boundaries. the us should stop suppressing china in the fields of economy, trade and technology, and stop undermining china's legitimate interests.
in response to the us's control over the high-end chip industry, su jingxiang, a retired researcher at the china institutes of contemporary international relations, told the paper in august that the experience of the united states, japan, south korea and taiwan should be studied in depth and reference should be made. a research and development consortium consisting of research institutions and technology companies should be established under the leadership of relevant government departments to establish a research and development platform for joint investment and shared benefits. he believes that global chip production and research and development technology will not stagnate. it is still difficult to say how it will develop in the future and who will win or lose, but it should not be affected by the will of us strategists.
the paper reporter chen qinhan
(this article is from the paper. for more original information, please download the "the paper" app)
