ASML CEO: Export controls on China will ultimately shoot itself in the foot

According to Jiwei.com, ASML CEO Peter Wennink said yesterday that technology export controls on China will not only fail to prevent China's technological progress, but will ultimately harm the US economy.

According to Bloomberg on April 14, Wennink said at an online industry event on Wednesday: "If you feel there is an economic risk and want to find a solution, then export controls are not the right way to manage the risk. If you close the door to the most cutting-edge technology to China, it will eventually cause non-Chinese economies to lose a lot of jobs and income."

Peter Wennink believes that China currently lacks the most advanced chip manufacturing technology and it will take some time to build its own domestic equipment chain, but non-Chinese companies will likely be excluded from China, the world's largest chip market.

The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that if the U.S. semiconductor business to China is completely cut off, it will cause the loss of 125,000 U.S. jobs and increase manufacturing costs by $80 billion to $100 billion.

ASML is currently the industry monopoly on advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment (EUV) required to manufacture cutting-edge chips and is an important equipment supplier to Samsung and TSMC, but the company has always had its eyes on the Chinese market.

China is currently building a world-class domestic chip industry chain, hoping to get rid of its dependence on foreign imports for key equipment, but cutting-edge manufacturing processes require ASML's lithography equipment. Amid continued tensions in Sino-US trade relations, ASML's EUV equipment is difficult to obtain export licenses.

Wennink said in January that ASML has not yet sold its latest EUV machine to China because the company is still seeking an export license application from the Dutch government. He also added that there are ongoing negotiations between the Dutch, EU and US governments on the issue.