The United States and the Netherlands have joined forces to exert pressure and restrictions on China's scientific and technological development, which has caused some troubles for China's scientific and technological research, but the Dutch ASML company has also fallen into a crisis and is more damaged than us.
China gave the Netherlands two choices, and the Netherlands was in a difficult situation.
ASML is a global leader in the lithography machine industry, and the Dutch company has a near-monopoly on the production of the world's most advanced lithography machines, with a market share of more than 90%.
The latest EUV lithography machine produced by ASML has excellent performance and high precision, which is a key equipment for chip manufacturing.
But when ASML was in full swing, it encountered a "storm".
At the request of the United States, the Netherlands issued new export control measures to impose restrictions on some sensitive high-tech products to China, which led to ASML not being able to export to China even if it had advanced EUV lithography machines.
Originally, the slightly inferior DUV could still be exported to the Chinese market, but just as the Chinese customer was about to receive the goods, they received a notice that ASML had decided to cancel the full after-sales service for the lithography machines that had already been sold.
This means that Chinese customers who buy lithography machines from ASML, regardless of whether they are old or new, will not be able to enjoy ASML's timely maintenance and technical support once they are sold.
This is unacceptable for Chinese businesses, it's like buying something without a warranty.
Therefore, the Chinese customer put forward two requirements: ASML either sold the lithography machine at the original price, which will cost ASML 500 billion yuan. Either they will have to agree to give up their patent rights in China, that is, to give up China, the world's largest developing market.
It is reasonable for China to do this, and it cannot let itself suffer losses in vain, because it was the Dutch side that violated the agreement first, causing the Chinese company to suffer losses, and of course it demands compensation from the Dutch side.
Faced with two requests from Chinese customers, ASML had a difficult decision. The Chinese market has seen a significant increase in demand in recent years, and it is a market that every foreign company wants to enter, and if it is abandoned, it will lose even more in the future.
If the lithography machine has been sold at the original price, it will also cause huge losses, and may even lead to the breaking of ASML's capital chain, and in serious cases, it may go bankrupt.
Seeing that China did not budge, the Netherlands panicked and had to bear the losses no matter how they chose.
The competition between China and the United States in the field of chips continues, and ASML is drawn into this silent war. In the short term, ASML will have a hard time meeting China's two requirements.
But what is certain is that abandoning the Chinese market is definitely the worst option, and ASML's leading position in the world may be seriously affected by then.
At that time, it will be even more difficult to regain the trust of Chinese customers and re-enter the Chinese market.
The development of lithography machines in China.
There is still a certain gap in the development of lithography machines in the Netherlands, and China's chip manufacturing is still at the low-end level.
The high-end chips made in the Netherlands are basically controlled below 14nm, and the minimum can reach between 3nm and 5nm.
You must know that the difficulty coefficient increases sharply for every 1nm reduction below 14nm, and ASML has mastered it 10 years ago.
Lithography machine technology not only requires the input of various material resources and manpower, but also the accumulation of technology and industry.
The manufacture of lithography machine involves a lot of technology, optical technology, precision manufacturing, microelectronics technology, etc., which can not be fully mastered in a short time, so China still needs to continue to research.
ASML's prospects in the Chinese market.
ASML's difficulties in the Chinese market have led to an analysis of ASML's prospects in the Chinese market.
Some people believe that ASML still has a great opportunity in the Chinese market, after all, it has advanced technology and patents, and can also cooperate well with Chinese enterprises.
There are also those who believe that ASML is hopeless in the Chinese market based on the current situation, because it has neither protected its own interests nor met the needs of Chinese customers.
From a practical point of view, ASML does have certain advantages in the Chinese market. In any case, it is a fact that ASML has advanced technologies and patents such as EUV lithography machines, and there is no other competitor in the world that can match it.
Even if the United States and the Netherlands impose restrictions on China's lithography machine exports, there is still the possibility of cooperation. However, this does not mean that China has given up independent innovation and research and development of lithography machines, and China has increased investment in lithography machines to promote the progress of lithography machine technology.
The importance of the Chinese market.
The Chinese market is a gold mine for ASML and even for other companies. In recent years, the demand for lithography machines in the Chinese market has been increasing, and ASML has made a lot of money in the Chinese market.
In the long run, the Chinese market still has a lot of room for development and improvement, after all, China has the world's most complete chip industry chain, many of which require a large number of lithography machines.
However, for the demand for lithography machines, imports alone cannot be satisfied, and more costs are also required. Therefore, China is also working hard to independently develop lithography machines.
However, the encirclement of the United States, Japan and the Netherlands has led to a more passive choice of China's chip companies in equipment updates and technical routes. Despite the many difficulties on the road to innovation, our country is confident that we can rely on our own wisdom.