Dutch foreign minister heads to China but little prospect of chip-ban breakthrough

Name: An unwinnable conflict? The US-China trade war, 5 years on
Uploaded: 2023-05-22T01:00:15.000Z
Duration: 14 min 45 s
Description: An unwinnable conflict? The US-China trade war, 5 years on

The Netherlands has restricted exports to China of its advanced chip equipment and that is unlikely to change soon, observers say

Beijing is trying to win over European partners as US policy becomes more hostile: analyst

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The Dutch government has restricted exports to China of some of its advanced chip equipment. Photo: Reuters

Kawala Xie

Published: 9:00am, 22 May 2023

Talks this week between China and the Netherlands are unlikely to yield a breakthrough on the Dutch semiconductor ban despite Beijing’s efforts to woo European politicians, analysts said.

The ban is expected to dominate discussions this week when Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra visits Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang.

Hoekstra is the latest in a flurry of European politicians to visit China over the past few months since China dropped its strict pandemic rules.

His two-day trip also follows a series of high-level exchanges between the two countries over the past week.

The Dutch king and Prime Minister Mark Rutte welcomed Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng to The Hague while Chinese Premier Li Qiang spoke to Rutte on Tuesday, describing the Netherlands as China’s “priority partner” in the European Union.

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An unwinnable conflict? The US-China trade war, 5 years on

The trips come as Beijing wrestles with Washington across a range of fronts, including technology, and seen by many analysts to be trying to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe.