Chinese chip companies are rapidly investing in new semiconductor factories to try and advance the nation’s capabilities and get around export controls imposed by the US and its allies. Those curbs are making it harder for Chinese companies to get access to the machines needed to make the most powerful chips — and slowing the development of China’s high-tech sector, which is seen as a threat to the US.
China’s imports from the Netherlands soared last year ahead of new export controls, which will further limit the ability of companies such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. to get the latest machinery.
In December, imports of lithography equipment from the Netherlands jumped almost 1,000% from a year earlier to US$1.1 billion as firms rushed to buy ahead of the start of Dutch restrictions this month.
See also: Intel cuts more than 500 jobs in Oregon as part of layoff plan
Even before those curbs came into effect, Dutch company ASML Holding NV had cancelled shipments of some of its top-of-the-line machines to China at the request of the US government, Bloomberg reported earlier this month. The cancellations came weeks before export bans on the high-end chipmaking equipment came into effect.
