Taking the initiative to become the “eyes and ears of the United States in China”? Photolithography giant ASME urgently speaks out

After the export of chips to China sparked anger from the US government, Dutch lithography giant ASML volunteered to be the “eyes and ears” of the US in China? This astonishing news appears in a new book titled ‘The Most Important Machine in the World’.

ASME clarified and denied the relevant information today (24th), and told Observer Network that the content of the book is seriously inconsistent with the facts, which damages the company’s reputation. ASME reserves the right to take further action.

According to the Dutch financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad on November 20th, this new book is co authored by former Bloomberg journalists Diederik Baazil and Cagan Koc. According to anonymous sources, the two described several key conversations between the Netherlands, Asma, and the United States in recent years, including an incident that occurred in 2023.

In January of that year, the Netherlands and the United States reached an agreement to further restrict the export of lithography machines to China. The ban came into effect in September of that year and will be fully implemented from 2024. During a transitional period of several months, the US and the Netherlands reached a “gentlemen’s agreement”: ASML is only allowed to deliver a small number of signed deep ultraviolet lithography machines (DUVs) to China, and is prohibited from selling any new equipment.

However, during this period, ASML sold far more equipment to China than agreed upon with the United States, which angered the American side upon discovering it.

Former ASML CEO Wenning Ke

The then US Secretary of Commerce, Raymond, immediately called the then CEO of ASML, Pete Winnick, and the then Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also summoned Winnick for questioning.

Lute warned the other party that violating the agreement with the United States is pushing the Netherlands into a dangerous situation, causing the Dutch government to “lose face” in front of key allies.

Lute also made it clear that the government was misled by ASME, and rebuilding trust in the United States is not only a requirement of the US government, but also in ASME’s own interests.

It is worth mentioning that Wenning Ke has been publicly criticizing the US ban, believing that excluding China will only lead to China investing more energy in independent technology research and development.

The author revealed in the book that Wenning Ke, who had been repeatedly pressured, subsequently proposed a shocking proposal: if the United States allowed ASML engineers to continue providing services to Chinese customers, the company could provide the US with relevant intelligence on the internal operations of Chinese chip factories.

Wenning Ke’s idea is that ASML engineers already need to go to the equipment deployment site to maintain the equipment and communicate with local employees, so ASML can become Washington’s “eyes and ears” in China.

The author describes this as an “extraordinary” proposal: “A Dutch private company seems willing to provide sensitive information to the US government in exchange for lenient policy treatment

However, Sullivan, the then National Security Advisor to the US President, rejected the proposal, stating that he was unwilling to give China the opportunity to fill the gap in chip manufacturing.

In the book, when asked about this matter, a spokesperson for ASME stated that they had never made such a proposal to the United States, calling it an inaccurate description of the event.

ASME also stated in a statement to Observer Network that ASME has noticed that a new book published in Dutch focusing on company content has recently attracted media attention. I do not approve of the content of the book.

The statement states that prior to the publication of the book, we had clearly informed the author in writing that multiple statements in the book were seriously untrue and had caused damage to ASM’s reputation. We reserve the right to take further action.

Any so-called proposal in the book that Asma has made to any government to “act on his behalf” is inconsistent with the facts and seriously misleading. Similarly, any claim that ASML intentionally or has intentionally violated any agreements related to the Netherlands, the United States, or any other government is also untrue.

The statement emphasizes that ASML always complies with all applicable laws and regulations for its business operations and conducts business within the scope of relevant export control regulations.

In January 2024, China made a solemn statement regarding the United States’ push for a “lithography machine ban”, stating that China has always opposed the United States’ generalization of national security concepts and coercion of other countries to impose technology blockades on China under various pretexts. Semiconductors are a highly globalized industry. Against the backdrop of deep economic integration among countries, the United States’ domineering and bullying behavior seriously violates international trade rules, seriously disrupts the global semiconductor industry pattern, and seriously impacts the security and stability of the international industrial chain and supply chain. It will inevitably backfire.

The Chinese side also urges the Dutch side to uphold an objective and fair position and market principles, respect the spirit of the contract, and take practical actions to safeguard the common interests of China and the Netherlands and their enterprises, maintain the stability of the international industrial chain and supply chain, and a free, open, fair, and non discriminatory international trade environment.

Ultimately, regardless of whether the content in the book is true or not, the suppression and blockade by the United States and the West are ultimately just small waves split apart by the Chinese technology giant.

Years later, looking back, the various scheming and calculations of this pair of Chinese people no longer add laughter.

As ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet previously stated in an interview with The New York Times, US chip export restrictions will not only weaken ASML’s dominant position in the semiconductor industry, but also backfire, further promoting China’s self-reliance and self-improvement.

In July, Nikkei Asia also cited a US expert who pointed out that the continuous restrictions and suppression imposed by the US on China reflect the naivety or ignorance of US policy makers towards China’s chip equipment manufacturing capabilities.

This expert said that China has already seen many strong competitors and may increase its investment in independent research and development of semiconductor equipment. Once Chinese semiconductor equipment manufacturers become competitive in the international market, it will be difficult to stop them.