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Tech war: ASML’s threat to expand outside the Netherlands is watched with interest in China
- As ASML threatens to expand outside the Netherlands, Chinese social media users are quick to point their finger at US-led export curbs
- Rather than China, the most likely reason behind ASML’s expansion plan is concerns over Dutch immigration policies, according to analysts
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Che Panin Beijing
Plans by chip equipment giant ASML to expand outside the Netherlands are watched with great interest in China, where some social media users believe that Dutch export curbs on sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing machines are to blame for the company’s potential relocation.
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ASML, which holds a monopoly in the world’s most advanced chip-making tools, is mulling an expansion outside its Dutch headquarters, with France being one option, according to recent reports by Reuters.
The company, which already faces growing US and Dutch restrictions over its sales to China-based clients, is said to be concerned about a deteriorating business environment after the far-right Party for Freedom scored a surprise election victory last November.
While China is not known to be a primary consideration in ASML’s expansion plans, pundits and social media users in the country seem to have projected their own frustrations onto the European company.
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Xiang Ligang, founder of Beijing-based telecoms information portal CCTime.com, said that ASML’s considerations reflect its disappointment over deprived businesses in China.
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