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Tech war: Xi Jinping, Li Qiang to meet visiting Dutch PM Mark Rutte as chip tensions surge
- China’s foreign ministry confirms visits to Beijing by Dutch leader and trade minister on Tuesday and Wednesday
- Mark Rutte’s trip comes as the Netherlands and its chip tool giant ASML face US pressure to curb exports to China
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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will visit Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the Netherlands’ chip export policy strains ties between the two countries.
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The visit, which was confirmed by China’s foreign ministry on Monday, was aimed at discussing “bilateral and economic relations, the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East”, according to a statement released by the Dutch government on Friday.
Rutte, together with acting trade minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen, will meet Xi and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang on Wednesday afternoon, the statement said.
With the Netherlands caught in the crossfire of China-US trade tensions, the visit is expected to centre on the licensing policy of Netherlands-based ASML, the world’s biggest developer of advanced semiconductor equipment for chip makers.
The company dominates the world market for the lithography systems manufacturers need to help build advanced integrated circuits.
The state-of-the-art equipment has become a major battleground in the US tech curbs on China.
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The US government has pressed allies, including the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea and Japan to tighten restrictions on China’s access to semiconductor technology.
ASML previously announced that starting from January 1, it no longer expected to be able to obtain licences from the Dutch government to ship advanced deep-ultra violet lithography tool lines to Chinese customers.
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