China warns ASML over lithography equipment controls . . . again
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The Chinese government has expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with what it says is an expansion of export controls on semiconductor lithography equipment, according to Global Times.
Global Times is owned by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
A spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) condemned the US for pressuring other countries to tighten export controls and called on the Netherlands to uphold international trade agreements, Global Times reported.
This was after ASML announced on Friday September 6 that it would need to apply to the Dutch government for licenses to export Twinscan 1970i and 1980i deep-UV immersion lithography systems to customers in China. These are lower specification DUV lithography equipment than was pulled into export licensing in 2023.
ASML sees export controls on latest DUV lithography equipment
The following day the same newspaper quoted MOFCOM saying that Chinese and US officials held “professional, rational and pragmatic” talks about policy issues of mutual concern. This was after China International Trade Representative Wang Shouwen and US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago co-chaired a vice-ministerial meeting of the China-US commercial and trade working group in Tianjin.
That meeting had a broader remit than just semiconductors. Global Times quoted unnamed experts saying: “Washington must stop its crackdown campaign against China’s development.”
Chines chip manufacturers already have many ASML DUV lithography machines installed but the latest export control likely includes the supply of spares and consumables and could now strike at China’s ability to manufacture multiple generations of semiconductor technology. Previously imposed export controls have effectively prevented China gaining access to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment and some high-end DUV scanners.
ASML couched the latest change as a transfer of authority from the US to the Netherlands, in line with US export administration regulations, rather than as an expansion of its scope.
The change came into effect on Saturday September 7.
The Global Times article quoted an analyst saying: “If this control measure is implemented and restricts ASML’s specific products from being exported to China, the impact on ASML could be substantial.”
It also included by way of an anonymous comment the prediction: “If the Netherlands follows American order to deny the service to ASML’s Chinese customers, it may never get China’s big market back again.”
ASML said its announcement is not expected to have any impact on the financial outlook for 2024 or for longer-term scenarios.
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ASML has started shipping second high-NA EUV litho machine
ASML sees export controls on latest DUV lithography equipment
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