Chip, restrictions in Europe to China
In the wake of the United States, the government of the Netherlands restricts exports of advanced semiconductor technologies in the name of protecting national security. Beijing protests: “An abuse”
China: grip on chips from the Netherlands, Beijing wrath
The high-tech challenge between China and the West intensifies. The Dutch government has announced it will put in place new export restrictions on chip-making technology to protect national security. in a move that aligns the Netherlands with US efforts to cut exports of these components to China. The decision was announced by the Dutch Trade Minister, Liesje Schreinemacher, in a letter to parliament in which she explains that the restrictions will be introduced before next summer. The Dutch government has acted in the “most accurate and precise way possible to avoid disruptions to supply chains,” she said, and to give companies time to adjust to the new rules. China is not mentioned in the letter, nor is the ASML group, a European giant in the production of equipment for semi-conductor manufacturers, mentioned. However, the group will suffer the impact of the decision, which takes into consideration the “Duv” lithography systems, sold by the Dutch giant to computer chip manufacturers. The measure announced by the Netherlands has deeply angered China.
China to Holland: “No to chip technology export restrictions”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stressed that Beijing “opposes the politicization of trade and technology issues” that damage cooperation and the stability of global supply chains. China, he added, has filed an official complaint over the matter, which interferes with normal economic and trade exchanges between Chinese and Dutch companies. The dispute over hi-tech, and chips in particular, is at the heart of the competition between China and the United States for technological supremacy, to the point that last December Beijing lodged a complaint with the WTO (World Trade Organization) for the restrictions on the export of chips by the United States, a move that Washington has decided to adopt to prevent sensitive technologies, with military applications, from falling into the hands of Beijing. The dispute does not only concern the two major economic powers, but also the Netherlands and Japan, under pressure from the United States. The announcement by the Dutch trade minister seems to put an end to months of uncertainty, which has irritated Beijing. Already on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali last November, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, had appealed to the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, to resist US pressure. “The world is one and the countries should cooperate”, Xi said. We need to counter, he added, “the politicization of economic and trade issues” and maintain the stability of global supply chains. A similar reminder, a few days later, Xi had also pronounced to the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, met on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Bangkok. Even tougher, the Chinese president has been in recent days. Even without directly mentioning the hi-tech dispute, Xi clarified, in front of the representatives of the world of industry and commerce gathered in Beijing for the work of the two branches of the Chinese parliament, that expectations are not rosy: “the risks and challenges we will face will only increase,” he said, directly blaming the United States for being primarily responsible for an attempt at “all-round containment and repression” of China.
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