China wants clarification on US-Netherlands chip deals via WTO

China has asked the Netherlands, Japan and the United States for clarification on the agreement they reached on export restrictions on chip technology. The Chinese government wants the three countries to inform the World Trade Organization (WTO) of these agreements so that the international free trade arbiter can review them.

Last month, the cabinet confirmed that it had imposed additional restrictions on chip machine maker ASML when exporting high-quality equipment to China. Japan recently announced that a number of chip companies in the country must first apply for a license to sell advanced products overseas, which also amounts to restricting exports to China.

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The announcements came after a meeting of Dutch, Japanese and US government officials in Washington in January, during which the countries agreed not to simply sell certain technologies to China, according to sources from the Bloomberg news agency. .

“Technology Supremacy”

According to China, these agreements “affect the principles of justice and transparency of the WTO”, reported the public broadcaster CCTV. The country accused the United States of pursuing “technological supremacy” and called on the Netherlands not to go along with it.

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President Joe Biden’s government already took action in the fall of 2022 to prevent China from developing the most modern semiconductors. This would be necessary for national and international security, as these high quality chips can also be used for military purposes. China says these security concerns are unfounded.