China is angry about ASML restrictions, but has yet to strike

• 

  Sjord den Das

  Chinese reporter

• Nando Castellin

  Teacher Technology

Beijing is outraged by the Netherlands’ decision to restrict chip machine exports to China, as leaked this weekend. By American media. Pressure is coming primarily from Washington, but Hague must also be affected. “One country has pursued its selfish agenda at the expense of countries it calls allies and friends,” said foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning.

ASML is not yet a household name in China. But the chip machine maker from Veldhoven, China is increasingly mentioned in the same breath as well-known Dutch phenomena: milk powder, windmills and football. “ASML? I saw it on TikTok,” laughs a boy, snapping photos of the CCTV tower with his girlfriend.

Mr. who runs a kiosk down the road from the business district. Liao did not have to look far in the newspapers to find reports of export restrictions. “What’s really stupid is the blockade by the US, Japan and the Netherlands,” Liao says, via the party’s mouthpiece Global Times. It features a photo of a depressed Peter Wenning. The ASML CEO’s gaze drifts downward, scratching his head. “You can make money here,” Liao says.

That’s what ASML wants. “We want to serve all customers, that’s our role,” CEO Peter Wennink said last week Against NOS. So far, more than fifty machines are going to China this year. The company said this weekend After announcing that an agreement had been reached on sanctions. ASML declined to comment on Beijing’s latest reaction.

Clarity on ASML is expected to take a few months. The company currently expects that the restrictions will not change its 2023 revenue forecast. In addition, everything indicates for now that the company is subject to restrictions on the most advanced engines in mainly all older models.

It’s hard to say how much turnover this will cost ASML. China will account for 2.7 billion euros of turnover in 2021, or 15 percent of the total. The more advanced the machine, the more expensive it is. Vennink insisted last week that “a lot of completely unoptimized machinery” was going to China. However, the company can easily offset lower revenue from China with huge demand from other regions. It has an order book worth 40 billion euros.

The technology of the ‘Dutch lithography giant’, as the company is mainly known in the Chinese media, is one of the most important keys to opening the door to further modernization of the Chinese economy. It hurts to have that door slammed shut. President Xi Jinping wants to continue doing business with ASML. In a conversation with Prime Minister Rutte at the G20 summit, he urged not to politicize trade.

‘Why did the Netherlands bow to America?’ Now you can read in the Global Times that it talks about a ‘mysterious’ agreement led by the US, which apart from the Netherlands, also includes Japan. While Beijing has been on a collision course with Washington for years, the tone toward Hague has so far been mild. Not least because the agreement still needs to be worked out: China may believe there is still room for negotiations, regarding maintenance agreements.

The fact that Hague has yet to formally say anything publicly about the trade embargo means that Beijing has not yet been forced to react strongly. “Openness and pragmatism are the defining characteristics of relations with the Netherlands,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told his Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra, according to a spokesman.

Both had a phone interview yesterday. Minister Hoekstra did not want to say what he discussed with the new minister today, but says he explained the Dutch position on the ASML file. He declined to comment on the effects of Beijing’s anger on the measures taken.

The same restriction on that question comes from China. Spokesman Mao Ning remains silent when asked by NOS whether there will be countermeasures from China. “We hope that all parties will take an objective, fair and independent position.”