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Dutch Leader Visiting Beijing for Talks03/27 06:13
BEIJING (AP) -- Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is meeting with Chinese
leaders Wednesday for talks that are expected to include the wars in Ukraine
and Gaza and Dutch restrictions on the export of semiconductor manufacturing
equipment to China.
The Netherlands imposed export licensing requirements in 2023 on the sale of
machinery that can make advanced processor chips. The move came after the
United States blocked Chinese access to advanced chips and the equipment to
make them, citing security concerns, and urged its allies to follow suit.
Rutte and Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen were to meet with China's top
leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, a Dutch government release said.
Dutch company ASML is the world's only producer of machines that use extreme
ultraviolet lithography to make advanced semiconductors. In 2023, China became
ASML's second-largest market, accounting for 29% of its revenue as Chinese
companies bought up equipment before the licensing requirement took effect.
Beijing has repeatedly accused the U.S. of trying to hold back China's
economic development by restricting access to technology. In response, Xi has
launched a campaign to develop home-grown chips and other high-tech products.
"China always opposes the U.S. overstretching the concept of national
security and making various excuses to coerce other countries into imposing a
technological blockade against China," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang
Wenbin said in January.
NATO and its growing ties with Asia also may come up at Wednesday's talks.
Rutte is a leading candidate to be the next head of NATO, an organization that
China has criticized for provoking regional tensions and making forays into the
Asia-Pacific region.
China has also taken a neutral position on the Ukraine war, providing Russia
with diplomatic cover and economic support through trade. That stance has
angered and frustrated much of Europe, which sees Russia as the aggressor and
Ukraine as the victim.
ASML, the Netherlands' largest company, recently threatened to leave the
country over anti-immigration policies that may impact the company's ability to
hire talent, leaving government officials scrambling to ensure that the firm
does not leave.
Van Leeuwen said this week in an interview with The FD, a Dutch business
newspaper, that protecting the interests of ASML is a top priority but
acknowledged that national security comes before economic interests.
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