Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that China always opposes the United States to generalize the concept of national security and use various excuses to coerce other countries to engage in technological blockade against China. Semiconductor is a highly globalized industry. In the context of deep economic integration among countries, the US bullying behavior seriously violates international trade rules, seriously undermines the global semiconductor industry structure, and seriously impacts the security and stability of the international industrial chain and supply chain. It will certainly reap the consequences.
'We urge the Dutch side to uphold an objective and fair position and market principles, respect the spirit of contract, take concrete actions to safeguard the common interests of the two countries and their companies, safeguard the stability of the international industrial chain and supply chain, and maintain a free, open, fair and non-discriminatory international trade environment,' Mr. Wang said. China will closely follow relevant developments and resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
The export license of two lithography machines was revoked, ASML: Affected the shipment of equipment to individual Chinese customers (CBN)
On the evening of January 1, the Dutch lithography giant ASML issued a statement on its official website that the export license of its NXT: 2050i and NXT: 2100i lithography systems has been partially revoked by the Dutch government, which will affect individual Chinese customers.
As for how the export license of the above two products will be revoked on the company's Chinese customers, ASMLresponded to the first financial reporter on January 2, the partial withdrawal of the license has affected the shipment of relevant equipment to individual customers in China.
ASML's official website shows that the company's mainstream DUV lithography system products are three, namely TWINSCAN NXT: 1980Di (hereinafter referred to as "1980Di"), TWINSCAN NXT: 2000i (hereinafter referred to as "2000i") and TWINSCAN NXT: 2050i (hereinafter referred to as "2050i").
According to ASML's official website, the single exposure resolution of 1980Di is greater than or equal to 38nm. That is to say, the wafer fab can only produce chip products with a process of not less than 38nm through a single exposure of the 1980Di lithography system. However, although fabs can theoretically use this type of lithography to make smaller chip products through multiple exposure technology, it also means more complex steps, higher costs and lower yields.
In a statement, the company also said that in recent communications with ASML, the U.S. government has provided further clarification on the scope and impact of its export controls. The United States issued the latest export control rules on October 17, 2023, restricting the shipment of certain models of mid-to-high end DUV infiltrating lithography machines to individual advanced chip manufacturing fabs. The Company does not expect this export license revocation and the latest U.S. export control restrictions to have a material impact on its 2023 financial position.
During the sixth CIIE, Shen Bo, senior Vice president of ASML Global and President of China, was interviewed by the First Financial and other media. Shen Bo predicted that a series of regulatory measures in 2023 are expected to affect the company's business in China by 10% to 15%. However, the overall demand of the Chinese market in 2024 is still very strong; It is expected that the industry will usher in greater growth by 2025.
"Despite the new export control rules, our business in China is still very large. Even taking into account the geopolitical impact, the overall demand in the Chinese market in 2024 is still in a very strong state. The short-term impact on overall business volumes will not be significant. In terms of long-term business expectations, although the industry has cyclical ups and downs, the overall trend will be upward by 2030, and there will be no major changes on the whole."
Shen Bo explained that the supply pressure in the past two years is very large, and the order delivery rate is below 50%.
"In fact, not only in China, in the world we are about 50% of the order delivery level." In fact, 2023 gives us a chance to ease, and make up the undelivered orders quickly. This is why 2023 in the Chinese market shipments increased relatively large. There is a lot of demand in China right now, especially in mature processes." Shen Bo said that ASML's goal is to achieve a global production capacity of around 600 DUV machines per year by the end of 2025 and early 2026.
As for ASML's development strategy in China, Shen Bo told First Financial and other media that the company currently has offices in 16 cities in China and 12 warehousing and logistics centers. By the end of 2023, ASML's photolithography machines and measured machines in China will reach nearly 1,400 units.
"2024 will basically be about executing the backlog of orders on hand, while also supporting customers to slowly bring up a lot of previously unused capacity." Shen Bo said.
The full ASML statement reads as follows:
Recently, the Dutch government has partially revoked the export license previously issued for the NXT: 2050i and NXT: 2100i lithography machines to be shipped in 2023, which will have an impact on our individual customers in China.
We do not expect this export license revocation and the latest U.S. export control restrictions to have a material impact on our 2023 financial position.
In recent communications with ASML, the U.S. government has provided further clarification on the scope and impact of its export controls. The United States issued the latest export control rules on October 17, 2023, restricting the shipment of certain models of mid-to-high end DUV infiltrating lithography machines to individual advanced chip manufacturing fabs.
ASML continues to strive to comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries in which it operates, including export control regulations.
