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Entering 2024, the geopolitical game of the semiconductor industry continues.
On January 1, local time, Dutch lithography machine giant ASML issued a statement saying that due to the Dutch government's revocation of the export licenses for the two lithography machines previously issued to be shipped in 2023, the company had to cancel the delivery orders of some equipment to China in advance.
Affected are the NXT:2050i and NXT:2100i devices, the former designed for mass production of 300mm wafers at advanced nodes, and the latter two-stage immersion lithography equipment equipped with a new projection optical adjustment system, primarily for lithography of 40nm to 28nm chips. The company said the revocation of the export license will have an impact on individual customers in China.
According to Bloomberg and other foreign media reports, the Dutch government's revocation of some export licenses this time was "at the request of the Biden administration". In fact, in recent years, the Netherlands has been the focus of pressure on the United States to restrict the export of lithography machines to China.
Ahead of the latest Dutch export ban to China coming into full effect this month, ASML holds a license to supply three top-of-the-line immersion deep UV lithography machines to Chinese companies.
However, it was reported that on the eve of ASML's statement, the United States approached the company and asked them to immediately stop the scheduled shipment of some equipment to Chinese customers. Jake Sullivan, assistant to the US president for national security affairs, also made a special call to the Dutch government on this matter.
In addition, the U.S. government has provided further clarification on the scope and impact of its export controls.
The United States has been putting pressure on the Netherlands and ASML for a long time. As early as 2019, the Trump administration pushed the Dutch government to ban ASML from selling top-of-the-line extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment to China.
In 2023, under pressure from the Biden administration, the Dutch government further strengthened export controls to China. In September of the same year, ASML said it had applied for a partial export license to sell NXT:2000i and later more advanced immersion lithography systems.
More than a month later, the U.S. Department of Commerce updated the "Export Control Rules for Advanced Computing Chips and Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment", and ASML, as a chip core equipment manufacturer, was also affected.
ASML's then-CEO Wennink publicly objected to this, as it would affect up to 15% of the company's sales in China.
Data shows that from January to November 2023, the amount of lithography equipment imported from Chinese mainland to ASML exceeded 50 billion yuan.
In response to the United States' imposition of a "lithography machine ban" and coercing other countries to engage in a technology blockade against China under various pretexts, the Chinese Foreign Ministry once again affirmed its position and expressed its opposition in its response on the 2nd.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin pointed out that the US side's hegemonic and bullying behavior seriously violates international trade rules, seriously undermines the global semiconductor industry pattern, and seriously impacts the security and stability of international industrial and supply chains.
At the same time, Wang Wenbin said that we urge the Dutch side to uphold an objective and fair position and market principles, respect the spirit of the contract, and take concrete actions to safeguard the common interests of China and the Netherlands and their enterprises.
According to Zhou Mi, a researcher at the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, the United States has been emphasizing its so-called "small courtyard and high walls" in recent years, fearing that China will threaten the United States under fair competition in the market, and has not hesitated to launch a high-tech blockade against China at the cost of harming the interests of its allies, including Japan and the Netherlands.
Zhou Mi said that the result of the blockade is that the marginal benefits of these pressures are diminishing, and the mainland is constantly developing its scientific and technological strength through its own production, research and development, and other methods, so that the US will eventually lose its market for this series of measures to "cocoon itself".
(Take a look at the news Knews editor Shi Ruigang)