Netherlands stops export of advanced technology to China, under US pr

Washington/Amsterdam/Beijing: It has been revealed that the export of advanced technology from the Netherlands to China, was stopped by US President Trump and the US administration, by pressurising the Netherlands. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo and other senior officials from the White House, took the initiative in the process. A few days ago, the United States commercial department announced restrictions on the export of the Artificial Intelligence-based Geospatial Imagery software, to China.

US President Trump declared an open trade war against China in 2018. The repercussions of this trade war have been observed in the investment and the advanced technology sector too. China has initiated steps to surpass the United States, under any circumstances, to become the superpower of the world. China is stressing the use of advanced technology for this purpose and it is trying to challenge the United States, using it.

It has been revealed that, over the last decade, China has made huge investments, in technology companies, in the United States and Europe. The plan was to acquire more and more advanced and sensitive technology using the investment to pressurise. China also runs the campaign to steal the treasures of the advanced technology, using the channels of cyberattacks and espionage. Against this background, President Trump has taken serious cognisance of this Chinese plan and initiated efforts to stop China from getting access to advanced technology.

ASML from the Netherlands is considered to be the leading company, in chip manufacturing technology. The company has developed an advanced system for the ‘Lithography Process’ necessary for manufacturing Microprocessors and Microchips. Systems similar to this are there only in a selected few companies in the world, which include Intel, Samsung and TSMC.

In China, the SMIC company is responsible, for the manufacture of chips and the related technology. This Chinese company signed an agreement with the company in the Netherlands. According to the agreement, the Dutch company ASML was to export the Lithography Machinery to China. But as per the international regulations and also under the Dutch laws, a special permit is necessary, for such an export. The machinery was not exported, in the time allocated by the permit, issued by the Netherlands government.

Thereafter, it was revealed last year that the machinery was not exported to China, as the Netherlands government refused to issue the permit to ASML. It is believed that this was a result of the US pressure. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo had pointed out the threats of exporting advanced technology to China, to the Netherlands Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, during a meeting. Thereafter, during Rutte’s US visit, he was given the security briefing, regarding use of the concerned technology.

It is believed that the Netherlands government had to refuse the permit to ASML, owing to these US efforts. White House, Netherlands government as well as the Chinese company, declined to comment regarding the issue. But it is clearly visible, as to how aggressive the Trump administration can get, to prevent China from getting access to advance technology. Therefore, indications are that China will have to face more resistance to acquire advanced technology in the coming times.