As everyone expected, Russia is indeed the "policy experimental field" of the United States, and Washington is planning to copy all its experience in dealing with Russia to China. According to Global Network , sources said that the Biden administration is putting pressure on the Dutch and Japanese governments to "ban the export of lithography machines to China." Among them, the Dutch company Ames and the Japanese company Nikon are the main lobbying targets of the United States.
We know that it is not just a day or two since the United States has been pursuing and intercepting China in the chip field. This time, in addition to the EUV lithography machine used to manufacture 5nm chips, the previous generation lithography machine using DUV technology, which is an "outdated" lithography machine that can produce up to 7nm chips, has also been included in the "banned" list by the United States. Exports to China” list.
It is reported that this is the experience gained by the Biden administration by suppressing Russia, that is, it must carry out "precision strikes" against China, and specific export restrictions must be more "targeted" to "hinder China's military and technological development in all aspects." This ensures that "the United States always has the technological advantage in potential conflicts."
We are no strangers to this kind of tactics. This is another time the US government has abused its national power and relied on its hegemony to engage in "coercive diplomacy." In the words of Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, this is "typical technological terrorism." What cannot be ignored is that there is still a certain gap between China's independent chip manufacturing technology and foreign countries. In the production process of semiconductor products, the photolithography machine is the core equipment, which determines the process level of the chip. In other words, if the United States really succeeds in exerting pressure, leaving aside high-end chips, even some consumer chips commonly used in the market may no longer be able to be sold to China unimpeded.
At present, it seems that out of consideration for Sino-Dutch trade relations, the Netherlands has not yet agreed to the US government's request, and Japan's Nikon has not yet agreed to the matter. The Dutch company Ames is well-known for exporting lithography machines. In the first quarter of this year, China imported 21 of the company's DUV lithography machines, accounting for about one-third of its export sales. It is Ames' first Big customers. In addition, the trade volume between China and the Netherlands last year was approximately US$120 billion, and the Netherlands is the second largest source of investment in China among the EU member states. It is conceivable that if the Netherlands rashly imposes a ban on China, it may lose the huge Chinese market and cause great damage to its own development. The same is true for Japan.
Today, China has conquered the application technology of 14nm lithography machines and is launching an impact on domestic 7nm lithography machines. For us, mid- and low-end chip manufacturing processes have long been no problem. We have not only achieved self-sufficiency, but also exported a large number of products overseas, forming a certain inherent position in the semiconductor industry chain. I believe that as domestic scientific researchers develop step by step toward 7nm, 5nm, and even the top 3nm chip technology, it is only a matter of time before China completely gets rid of its dependence on foreign advanced chips and lithography machines.
What the Biden administration should see is that in the context of globalization, the United States has repeatedly gone against the trend, engaged in "technological blockade" and erected high barriers to the outside world. This will only make other countries more alert and prompt it to accelerate its own implementation. Scientific and technological independence and self-reliance. In short, the United States always wants to block other people's roads, but in fact it will only block itself in the end.
