Netherlands Shrugs Off China Trade Threats

The Netherlands will face consequences if it blocks the export of high-end semiconductor equipment to China, Beijing's envoy warned but The Hague is not flinching, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

Photo Insert: The Hague imposed new curbs on the export of chip-making technology from ASML.

The Hague imposed new curbs on the export of chip-making technology from ASML, which practically has a monopoly on high-end photolithography equipment, to China in step with the US in curtailing China's access to cutting-edge chips.

"This will not be without consequences. I'm not going to speculate on countermeasures, but China won't just swallow this," ambassador Tan Jian said in an interview with Het Financieele Dagblad, a Dutch newspaper.

China accounts for only 18% of ASML’s market. Tan also arrogantly tagged the Netherlands as a small country.

The European Union (EU) has long complained about the political barriers used by Beijing to stop exports from EU countries that displease Xi Jinping. It is suing China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for what it considers economic coercion.

After Lithuania permitted a "Taiwanese Representative Office" to open in Vilnius in 2021, Beijing blocked Lithuanian exports to China.

The informal 17+1 trade group between China and mostly Eastern European nations has shrunk to 14+1 after several countries dumped China, saying only Beijing will benefit from it. China actually needs the EU more than the EU needs China, the Associated Press (AP) also reported.

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