If the United States succeeds in curbing China’s access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, Beijing’s chip ambitions will suffer a major setback. This risk will likely prompt China to retaliate against countries backing Washington and take more brash moves to violate related Western patents. According to a Bloomberg report published on July 6, the United States is now seeking to cut off China’s access to deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) machines, which are used to make advanced semiconductor chips, as part of Washington's broader effort to counter Beijing’s growing technological prowess. During a recent trip to Belgium and the Netherlands, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves reportedly asked Dutch officials to block the semiconductor equipment company ASML Holding NV from exporting argon fluoride immersion lithography (ArFi) machines, the most advanced type of DUV technology, to China. Sources cited in the same Bloomberg report said the United States is also pressuring...
