A researcher shows a device produced with the lithography equipment on November 29. Photo: VCG

China on Sunday voiced its strong dissatisfaction with the Netherlands' expanded export controls on photolithography machines. A spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) slammed the US for pressuring other countries to tighten export controls on semiconductors and related equipment, while urging the Netherlands to uphold international trade rules and refrain from abusing export control measures.

The Dutch government on Friday said it would expand export licensing requirements for ASML's 1970i and 1980i Deep Ultraviolet immersion lithography tools, according to Reuters.

China and the Netherlands have engaged in multi-level and frequent consultations on semiconductor export controls. Yet, building on its export controls introduced in 2023, the Netherlands has expanded restrictions on photolithography machines. 

"China has expressed strong dissatisfaction with this development," the MOFCOM spokesperson said in a public response.

In recent years, the US, in order to maintain its global hegemony, has repeatedly abused the concept of "national security" and coerced other countries into tightening export controls on semiconductors and related equipment, undermining the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain and severely harming the legitimate rights and interests of the relevant countries and companies, and China strongly opposes it, the MOFCOM spokesperson said.

Aiming to contain the development of China's semiconductor industry, the US has exhausted all its measures, and now it's resorting to sacrificing the interests of its allies, like the Netherlands, Ma Jihua, a veteran telecom industry observer, told the Global Times on Sunday.

If this control measure is implemented and restricts ASML's specific products from being exported to China, the impact on ASML could be substantial, Ma said.

The Dutch side should prioritize upholding international trade rules and the broader China-Netherlands economic relationship, the MOFCOM spokesperson said.

Global Times