Netherlands and Japan join US in chip war with China | Technology

The Netherlands and Japan will restrict exports of chips and chip machines to China. The news agency reported that both countries support the tougher rules imposed by the US Bloomberg Monday.

The US, the Netherlands and Japan are the largest suppliers of chip machines. The move would be a major blow to China’s technological ambitions.

The US wants to take tough measures to stop Chinese development of advanced chips. They can also be used for military purposes.

ASML, a chip machine maker based in Veldhoven, is already unable to deliver its cutting-edge devices to China. The US also wants to not allow old devices to enter the Asian country.

ASML is the world’s largest chip machine manufacturer. Japanese Canon is a competitor, as are Nikon and Tokyo Electron, but they are much smaller players.

ASML CEO Peter Wennink said in his company’s latest statistical presentation that he does not expect demand for chip machines to decline if ASML is no longer allowed to supply China. This is because America and Europe are investing a lot of money in new factories to make computer chips in their own region. They want to reduce their dependence on China.