Exclusive | Dutch semiconductor giants join delegation to China as US pushes chip export curbs: source
Representatives from semiconductor giants ASML and NXP will be among the 17 business executives expected to join Dutch Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma on his trip to China in early July – though Nexperia will not be part of the delegation, a source familiar with the planning told the South China Mor
By Xiaofei Xu
Representatives from semiconductor giants ASML and NXP will be among the 17 business executives expected to join Dutch Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma on his trip to China in early July – though Nexperia will not be part of the delegation, a source familiar with the planning told the South China Morning Post.
The executives agreed to join on the condition that Sjoerdsma would refrain from raising human rights issues or arms sales to Taiwan, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Many in the Dutch business community had initially hesitated for fear he might bring up politically sensitive topics, the source said.
The matter drew attention after Sjoerdsma’s cabinet colleague for agriculture, Silvio Erkens, told the Dutch talk show WNL op Zondag in May that the trade minister could broach contentious issues during his coming trip.
Sjoerdsma is no stranger to tensions with Beijing. He was previously sanctioned while serving as a member of parliament for criticising alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region – accusations the Chinese government has long denied. In 2022, he also advocated for the Netherlands to sell weapons to Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Nexperia would not join the delegation because it remained entangled in a legal battle with its Chinese owner, WingTech, two sources familiar with the matter told the SCMP on condition of anonymity.
ASML declined to comment when asked if it would join the delegation, while NXP did not immediately reply.
Dutch policymakers are currently navigating escalating pressure from the United States over semiconductor supply chains. At the centre of those concerns is ASML, the global market leader in the lithographic technology used to laser-print tiny circuits into microchips.
Sjoerdsma was in Washington on Tuesday to discuss the proposed Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware (Match) Act with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to Dutch business broadcaster BNR. The Dutch government lodged an official objection in May to the proposed US law, which aims to severely restrict Chinese chipmakers’ access to the technologies required to produce AI chips and would further restrict ASML’s business in China.
The Dutch company is already barred from selling its most advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines in the world’s second-largest economy, while the Match Act would prevent it from shipping lower-end machines and servicing customers in the country.
Bloomberg reported last week that Lutnick told senior ASML executives that one of the semiconductor equipment maker’s EUV lithography machines might have made its way to China. ASML publicly denied shipping the equipment, stressing in a statement that it remained committed to complying with export controls.
At the same time, the shift in global technology controls appears to be pulling the Netherlands closer to US-led coordination efforts. Sjoerdsma told BNR that he had signed an agreement on Tuesday to become a full member of the “Pax Silica” initiative, launched in December as Washington pushes to secure global artificial intelligence supply chains with its allies. The Netherlands was previously a non-signatory participant.
Against this backdrop, the Dutch trade minister will arrive in Beijing on July 6, the source said. The next day, he will meet Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, take part in a business round table with companies from both sides and attend a dinner. Sjoerdsma will then travel to Shanghai by high-speed rail on July 8, where the municipal government will also host a business dinner. The minister is expected to visit a local company on July 9 before leaving China after lunch.