Beijing envoy warns Dutch of retaliation for chip curbs: ‘China won’t just swallow this’
- Tan Jian, Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands, says export restrictions on chip technology ‘will not be without consequences’
- The Dutch firm ASML is the world’s leading producer of photolithography machines crucial to making advanced microchips
The Netherlands will face consequences if it blocks the export of high-end semiconductor equipment to China, Beijing’s envoy to the country has warned.
The Hague announced new curbs on the export of chip-making technology this month, in step with the United States in curtailing China’s access to cutting-edge chips.
“This will not be without consequences. I’m not going to speculate on countermeasures, but China won’t just swallow this,” ambassador Tan Jian said in an interview with Het Financieele Dagblad, a Dutch newspaper, on Monday.
The Netherlands is home to ASML, the world leader in producing the sophisticated – and expensive – photolithography machines that are essential to making advanced microchips.
The chips power everything from smart devices and electric vehicles to data centres and space shuttles. They have emerged as a key battleground in the US-China tech war, with Washington seeking to choke Beijing’s access to both the chips and the equipment producing them.