China has urged the Netherlands to keep its supply chain stable and trade open as the U.S. courts Dutch support to curb China’s access to advanced chip technology. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang spoke to his Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra by phone and said the Netherlands should “jointly safeguard the stability of the global supply chain and promote an open and orderly international trade environment instead of a divided and chaotic one”, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Qin also said he hoped the two countries could maintain the “defining feature” of Sino-Dutch relations – an “open and pragmatic relationship”. Following the call, Hoekstra said in a tweet that it was “good” to talk to Qin Gang and that they discussed global stability as well as Dutch-Chinese relations, economic cooperation and trade. The call between Qin and Hoekstra came as the United States is trying to enlist the Netherlands in its technology war with China. U.S. acting Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources John Bass met Dutch Foreign Ministry Secretary General Paul Huijts in Washington. The two officials discussed workforce and management strategies and the importance of advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, a U.S. government statement said.
Japan and the Netherlands have agreed to a deal with the U.S. to restrict Chinese access to materials used to make advanced computer chips. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said bullying and hegemonic behavior infringed on the rights of Chinese companies and destabilized the global supply chain. She added that all parties should make independent decisions based on their long-term interests and should uphold the principle of a fair and equitable market. She said China would “firmly defend” its legitimate interests. Since October, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has imposed wide-ranging export controls, including tight restrictions on U.S. chip-making technology, as part of an effort to slow Beijing’s technological and military advances. The curbs block Chinese firms trying to develop advanced chips from gaining access to factories that rely on U.S. technology, and deprive Chinese firms of U.S. expertise. The chips are essential to develop the high-end semiconductors required for artificial intelligence and supercomputing.
ASML Holding, the Dutch firm at the heart of this tech war, has a global monopoly on advanced lithography technology and the production of equipment critical for making semiconductors. The firm has been restricted from selling its most advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines to Chinese customers since 2019 because of U.S. pressure, but it still sells older deep ultraviolet (DUV) machines to China. The company’s CEO Peter Wennink told Reuters that Chinese sales in 2021 totaled around €2.16 billion, or 14% of the company’s total revenue. Japanese firms Nikon and Tokyo Electron also make similar but less advanced lithography equipment. In January, the U.S. extended its tough restrictions to Macao, banning shipments of advanced chips and chip-making equipment to the Special Administrative Region (SAR), which has limited autonomy in economic and commercial relations. This move was in relation to concerns the city was being used as a back door through which the technology could make its way into the rest of China. In mid-January, Biden met separately with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to push for tighter export controls, the South China Morning Post reports.
