U.S. Enters New War
Welcome to the Chip War.
In a new turn of events that President Biden now has to deal with, the Netherlands announced that it would deny China access to chip manufacturing technology, drawing ire from Beijing. China subtly suggested that the European nation is aligning with the US in the ongoing chip conflict.
According to Fox, The Dutch trade minister stated in a letter to parliament on Wednesday that it was essential to prevent China’s access to equipment that employs ultraviolet light to etch circuits on chips due to security and human rights concerns.
The minister’s communication avoided explicitly naming ASML Holdings, which is the leading tech firm in Europe and a significant global provider. Industry specialists believe that China’s attempts to establish its own chip industry are hampered by its lack of access to ASML’s cutting-edge technology.
The Netherlands’ decision arises in the midst of the ongoing chip conflict between Beijing and Washington. In October, President Biden prevented China’s access to American tools that produce sophisticated chips, which could be employed in weaponry or equipment for the Communist Party’s surveillance system.
A spokeswoman from the Chinese foreign ministry objected to the fact that “a particular nation” – an allusion to the United States – was attempting to maintain its own power by using national security as a pretext to “deny China its right to progress.”
Chinese Spokeswoman Mao Ning condemned the Netherland’s new decision and said, “We firmly oppose the Netherlands’s interference and restriction with administrative means of normal economic and trade exchanges between Chinese and Dutch enterprises. We have made complaints to the Dutch side.”
