ASML has just announced that it is canceling the possibility of exporting some of its cutting-edge semiconductor production machines to China. A decision taken under pressure from the United States.
To produce the most advanced semiconductors, smaller than 7nm, it is necessary to use state-of-the-art machinery, which only the Dutch company can provide. This is why the Netherlands, like Japan, have been drawn into the United States in its trade war with China from the start. Washington wants to minimize its rival’s technological development in several cutting-edge areas, including semiconductors, components which are used everywhere, from AI to smartphones to missiles.
China cut off from cutting-edge machinery
This is a big blow for Beijing. ASML has just announced that it is partially canceling the export of NXT:2050i and NXT:2100i lithography machines to China. These machines use deep ultraviolet (DUV) technology, which allows components to be etched at less than 7nm.
A sign that the noose is tightening around China, this is not even the last generation of systems in the field, ASML having since developed extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology which engraves semiconductors at even larger sizes. lower. This technology has never been exported to China.
According to the agency Bloomberg, the United States would be behind this decision. The Biden administration reportedly contacted the Dutch government at the end of last year to prevent the export of these tools to its Chinese rival.
Rare metals, China’s future response?
According to ASML, this decision should only affect a “ small number of customers. » Their identity has not been communicated, but the Dutch company counts among its buyers in the Middle Kingdom giants like SMIC, the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the country, or Hua Hong. China is ASML’s third largest market, after Taiwan and South Korea.
Unsurprisingly, Beijing’s reaction was not good. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called on ASML to “ be impartial, [à] respect market principles and the law, [à] take concrete measures to protect the common interests of the two countries and their businesses and maintain the stability of international supply chains. »
It is currently complicated to know to what technological level China has reached in the autonomous production of semiconductors. In 2023, Huawei, which is nevertheless under enormous sanctions from the United States, released a Huawei Mate 60 Pro offering 5G, meaning that it included a 7 nm chip, the origin of which is not had not been specified.
The Chinese government, for its part, warns that retaliatory measures will be taken. They should affect rare earths, the refining activity of which is virtually a global monopoly for China. Last August, the country had already imposed restrictions on two of them (gallium and germanium). A sequel soon on the program?
Source : Reuters
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