After Biden took office, the US government listed China as a "realistic competitor." In order to curb China's development, the United States has not only constantly provoked issues such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea , but also imposed a technological blockade on China in the fields of semiconductors and other fields. Earlier, the Biden administration continued to put pressure on allies, requiring countries to follow the United States and restrict the export of chip to China, but considering China's vast market, all countries are on the wait-and-see attitude.
Not long ago, Bloomberg revealed that Dutch is considering banning the export of equipment that manufactures 14 nanometers or more advanced chips to China, and specific regulatory measures will be introduced as soon as next month. Bloomberg also claims that Dutch officials tend to work with the United States because the Netherlands faces similar national security issues with the United States.
Although this news has not been confirmed by the Netherlands, the US seems to believe that the Netherlands will definitely compromise, because although the Netherlands has the world-renowned semiconductor equipment supplier Asmay, the company needs the US to provide parts and technology. If the US stops supplying, it will have a huge impact on Asmay. Similarly, Japan is facing the same situation as the Netherlands. Therefore, when the US Secretary of Commerce Raymond held a telephone talk with Japan's economy industry Nishimura Yasutoshi , he directly asked Japan to respond to the US's chip export control measures to China, restrict the export of high-tech semiconductor manufacturing and other equipment, and delay China's cutting-edge semiconductor development progress.
Kyodo News also pointed out that the US side's request this time is because Japan and the Netherlands have world's top companies in semiconductor process microscopy technology and other aspects. If they do not receive assistance from Japan and the Netherlands, there will be loopholes in the US's regulatory measures. But once Japan follows the United States and implements similar export restrictions to China, it will inevitably affect the cooperation between China and Japan.
In fact, before this, the United States had already put pressure on Japan through various channels, requiring it to follow the US sanctions on China. Not long ago, there was news that Japan is communicating with the United States on issues such as restricting the export of chips to China, and it is not ruled out that the Japanese government will follow the relevant US policies. However, the Japanese Minister of Economic and Industry has made it clear that it will listen to the opinions of relevant Japanese companies. From this perspective, it is still hard to say whether Japan will follow the US side.
On the one hand, China is a major customer of Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment. According to data, in the first half of this year, in the field of semiconductor , Sino-Japanese trade volume reached billions of dollars. Against this background, if Japan chooses to work with the United States, it will face immeasurable losses.
On the other hand, China and Japan's economic and trade cooperation is becoming increasingly close. In 2021, the bilateral trade volume of China and Japan increased by 217.1% year-on-year to US$371.4 billion, a record high. Under the influence of the new crown epidemic and other factors, Japan's current economic environment is not optimistic. It can be foreseeable that if the Kishida government strongly promotes chip export control measures to China, it will inevitably affect the economic and trade cooperation between China and Japan, which will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among Japanese domestic companies.
In response to the US's brutal and unreasonable suppression, my Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian has long stated that if other countries try to block other people's paths, they will eventually block their own paths. I hope that all relevant parties can make independent judgments based on their long-term interests and international interests.
Objectively speaking, at a time when global economy is so closely linked, the United States' blindly suppressing China for its own selfishness is destined not to succeed. Because the more the US is "bottleneck" against China in the chip field, the more it can stimulate China's determination and creativity to independently research and development. Coupled with China's important position in the semiconductor market, the United States is destined to be unable to exclude China from industrial chain . Therefore, this targeted measures of the United States can indeed cause certain trouble to China in a short period of time, but in the long run, under the siege of the United States, if China can overcome technical difficulties in the near future, the United States will undoubtedly "backfire".
