China’s imports of Dutch lithography machines have surged this year, with the first seven months already surpassing ASML Holding’s previous forecast for 2023 sales to China, according to a new report, as Chinese firms stock up on the equipment ahead of new export curbs.
From January to July, Chinese imports of Dutch-made lithography machines, nearly all from chip equipment giant ASML, grew 64.8 per cent year on year to US$2.58 billion, Chinese semiconductor industry consultancy JW Insights said in a report published on Friday, citing China customs data.
In January, ASML projected that its sales to China this year would remain steady at about 2.2 billion euros (US$2.36 billion), or 14 per cent of its total annual revenue.
In July, China imported US$626 million worth of lithography machines from the Netherlands, nearly eight times larger than the same month last year, according to the report.
ASML has a near monopoly on the world’s most advanced lithography machines, which are required for the production of cutting-edge chips. Under US pressure, the company has cut off exports of its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems to China.
I’m not defending execution, I’m just pointing out that it’s stupid to suddenly get mad about cheap products from China because the US propaganda machine says you should be mad at China NOW. You’ve mindlessly rattled off every propaganda talking point, from the fearmongering, to the claims of “whataboutism”, to the use of the “tankie” label. Why are you afraid of backdoors that China installs when you live in the US? If anything, the US backdoors would be worse for you since the US could actually get to you.