ASME calls the US anti China bill 'a bad idea', experts: its high-level statements highlight the escalating conflict between the US and its allies

On the 14th local time, Dutch semiconductor equipment giant ASML released its third quarter financial report for this year. ASML Chief Financial Officer Dai Houjie stated in an interview with reporters after the financial report conference that the company opposes the Hardware Technology Control Multilateral Coordination Act (MATCH Act) proposed by the US Congress. The bill aims to further restrict ASML from selling deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography equipment to China. Dai Houjie believes that this is a bad idea that will have the opposite effect and accelerate the independent research and development of domestic technology in China.

Public reports show that the MATCH bill was proposed in April this year, aiming to pressure non US companies, including ASML, to comply with the same export restrictions on China as US companies. Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Scherzma, previously stated that the Netherlands has expressed its opposition to the bill, particularly regarding its extraterritorial effects, to members of the US Congress and the US government.

Liang Huaixin, a researcher at the Institute of National Security and Governance at the University of International Business and Economics, told Global Times reporters on the 15th that the proposal of the MATCH bill essentially reflects the United States' discovery that relying solely on its own control over finished semiconductors is no longer enough to prevent China from achieving independent chip innovation. But the United States did not realize that this move would further force China to carry out full process independent innovation in the semiconductor field, expanding from finished semiconductors to manufacturing technology and equipment.

According to ASML's financial report, the company's sales to China increased by 109% month on month in the third quarter of this year, and China's share of its equipment sales increased from 14% in the second quarter to 23%. ASML expects that the Chinese market will account for approximately 20% of its total sales this year. ASML CEO Christopher Fukai stated that China's demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment remains strong, and the continued construction of wafer fabs is expected to support market demand in 2027 and beyond.

Xiang Ligang, Chairman of Zhongguancun Modern Information Consumption Application Industry Technology Alliance, told Global Times reporters that ASML's strong quarterly performance is mainly due to the continuous expansion of advanced manufacturing capacity driven by the demand for artificial intelligence, which has kept high-end lithography equipment orders high. At the same time, Chinese semiconductor equipment manufacturers are accelerating the development and manufacturing of key equipment such as lithography machines. With the increasing competitiveness of China's domestic lithography equipment industry from 2028 to 2030, the market landscape may undergo significant changes.

Liang Huaixin further stated that the statements made by ASML executives reflect the increasingly intensifying conflicts between the United States, its allies, and Western semiconductor companies. The United States not only demands its allies to approach it on core issues such as semiconductors, but also adheres to the principle of "America First", and even puts pressure on multinational corporations through third-party sanctions, disregarding their actual business interests. Regardless of whether the MATCH bill is ultimately passed, the United States will face ongoing internal conflicts if it wants to bind its allies and Western semiconductor companies to the "tank" of sanctions against China.