Engadget RSS Feed-US reportedly halted ASMLs chipmaking machine shipments to China weeks before ban
January 2, 2024 2 min 308 words
这篇报道揭示了美国在对华出口限制生效前数周，通过政治手段迫使荷兰公司ASML停止向中国交付芯片制造设备。这一举措不仅揭示了国际科技产业中的地缘政治博弈，更反映了对中国在半导体领域崛起的担忧。报道中提到美国政府直接干预ASML的出口事务，显示了美国在技术封锁方面的强硬态度。然而，这也引发了对国际贸易规则和合作精神的质疑，因为这种干预似乎绕过了既定的出口协议。在全球科技争夺战中，国家之间的合作和对话显得尤为重要，否则可能导致更严重的紧张局势。
NVIDIA may have figured out a way to go around the US export restrictions on China, but apparently ASML, the Dutch firm behind the key chipmaking equipment, isn't having much say on this end. According to Bloomberg, Biden's administration reportedly reached out to ASML "weeks before" the January 1, 2024 export ban deadline, requesting the firm to halt some pre-scheduled shipments of its deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) machines to its Chinese customers. This came after the revelation that SMIC used ASML tech to manufacture Huawei's latest flagship processor, the 7nm HiSilicon Kirin 9000S.
In addition to DUV machines, ASML also manufactures extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines for making more advanced chips — with node processes of 5nm or less — for the likes of Apple and Qualcomm. While ASML was never allowed to sell EUV equipment to China, the Dutch government did grant licenses to the firm for shipping DUV machines to China until the end of 2023.
Bloomberg reports that things changed when the US government — National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, specifically — allegedly contacted the Dutch government regarding some of ASML's final shipments to China, to which his team was asked to reach out to ASML directly. "Shipments of a limited number of machines" were affected.
While China had been able to source lithography machines from elsewhere, they tended to be off less advanced methods. Not to mention the joint effort between the US, Japan and the Netherlands on limiting China's access to such equipment. That said, China had since been pushed to beef up its own silicon ecosystem, to the point where it surprised the world with its homegrown 7nm mobile 5G chip. It's no wonder the US was desperate to halt ASML's final DUV shipments to China, though doing so before the agreed deadline may be a questionable move.