chip Photo:VCG

The European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA), a major computer chip industry group, on Monday reportedly called on the incoming European Commission to impose fewer chip export restrictions while focusing on areas where European companies have advantages.

The move reflects European companies' real need to engage with other markets including China for growth, Chinese observers said. As one of the largest consumers of electronics products, China is a valuable market for European chipmakers, they said, urging the EU to view trade ties with China from the point of view of its own interests.

The ESIA said that it acknowledges the need to protect technology and ensure security. However, "a more positive approach to economic security is required, which is based on support and incentives, rather than a defensive approach that relies on restrictive and protective measures," the association said in a statement, Reuters reported.

In a recent report on key recommendations to the EU 2024-29 political mandate released by the ESIA, it stressed the semiconductor industry is truly global and requires a high degree of openness along the supply chain.

"Chip manufacturers also need to be able to scale, meaning serving global markets, to be competitive. A valid business case often starts with scales of high-quality parts in the 500 million units' range. The European market alone will not be able to provide such scale," it said.

As part of its campaign to contain China's technological advancements, the US has kept ratcheting up pressure on the EU in recent years. According to several media reports, the Dutch government plans to further limit exports from ASML to China by not renewing existing export licenses. The restrictions mainly involve maintenance and parts delivery for the second most modern generation of chip machines, specifically top-tier deep ultraviolet lithography equipment.

"China is one of the biggest importers of semiconductors and chipmaking equipment from the EU. If the EU does not want to lose the huge profits generated from the Chinese market, it should reduce restrictions on trade with China," Jian Junbo, deputy director of the Center for China-Europe Relations at Fudan University's Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

Jian said there is vast room for China and the EU to deepen cooperation, for example, in green technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and environmental protection. It's unrealistic for some Western countries to achieve a technology monopoly through geopolitics, and China's high-level opening-up is in line with the trend of history.

Fu Liang, a veteran industry expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday that certain Western countries' restrictive measures against the Chinese chip industry will only bolster Chinese enterprises' resolve and confidence to seek core technological breakthroughs.