The US government, led by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, engaged with Dutch authorities over ASML’s impending shipments to China, leading to the disruption of a limited number of machine shipments. In response, China has sought lithography machines from other sources and accelerated its efforts to strengthen its domestic silicon ecosystem, even developing its own 7nm mobile 5G chip. The US's decision to interrupt ASML’s final DUV machine deliveries to China ahead of the agreed deadline has raised questions and is under scrutiny.
Key takeaways:
- The Biden administration has reportedly asked Dutch company ASML to suspend the delivery of certain pre-scheduled shipments of their deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) machines to their Chinese clientele, ahead of a looming January 1, 2024 export ban deadline.
- This decision came after the revelation that SMIC, a Chinese semiconductor manufacturer, had used ASML’s technology in the production of Huawei’s flagship processor, the 7nm HiSilicon Kirin 9000S.
- ASML, which also manufactures extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, has never been allowed to sell EUV equipment to China. However, the Dutch government had previously granted licenses to ASML for the shipment of DUV machines to China, set to continue until the end of 2023.
- In response to efforts to curb China's access to such critical equipment, China has accelerated its efforts to bolster its domestic silicon ecosystem, developing its own 7nm mobile 5G chip and unveiling four Large Language Models (LLM) that reportedly rival OpenAI’s flagship AI model, GPT 4.