By Karen Freifeld
(Reuters) – A U.S. official was on his way to Japan after meeting with the Dutch government in an effort to pressure allies to further clamp down on China’s ability to produce cutting-edge semiconductors, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. subject this Tuesday.
Alan Estevez, the head of U.S. export policy, was again trying to take advantage of a 2023 agreement between the three countries to keep chipmaking equipment from China that could modernize its military.
The US first imposed sweeping restrictions in 2022 on shipments of advanced chips and chipmaking equipment to China from companies including Nvidia and California-based Lam Research.
Last July, to align with US policy, Japan, home to chip equipment makers Nikon Corp and Tokyo Electron, restricted exports of 23 types of equipment, from machines that deposit films on silicon wafers to devices that record microscopic circuits.
Then the Dutch government began regulating Dutch-based ASML’s deep ultraviolet (DUV) semiconductor equipment for China, and the US imposed additional DUV machine restrictions on a handful of Chinese factories, claiming jurisdiction because ASML’s systems contain US parts and components. ASML is the world’s largest chip equipment manufacturer.
Washington is now talking to allies about adding 11 more Chinese chip factories to a restricted list, the person said. There are currently five factories on the list, the source said, including SMIC, China’s biggest chipmaker.
The U.S. also says it wants to control additional chipmaking equipment, the person said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Commerce declined to comment.
US officials visited the Netherlands in April in an attempt to stop ASML from servicing certain equipment in China. Under US rules, American companies are prohibited from servicing equipment in advanced Chinese factories.
But ASML’s maintenance contracts are still in place, the source said, explaining that the Dutch government has no extraterrestrial space to disrupt them.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sanctioned Chinese telecom giant Huawei last year launched a phone equipped with a sophisticated chip. The Huawei Mate 60 Pro was seen as a symbol of China’s technological resurgence despite Washington’s efforts.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by David Gregorio)
