‘Be Careful With Chinese Students:’ The U.S. Warning to ASML and Dutch Universities

ASML plays a crucial role in the ongoing technological and trade war between the U.S. and China. This Netherlands-based company is responsible for producing the most sophisticated machines for chip manufacturing. For instance, one of its latest high-aperture UVE photolithography machines costs a whopping €350 million ($380 million) and can produce over 200 wafers per hour.

Just five miles from ASML’s world headquarters is the Eindhoven University of Technology. Its students could potentially work for companies such as ASML in the future. However, there are concerns that some of them may end up at companies like SMIC, the Chinese giant challenging the West.

Similar to ASML, the Dutch university is affected by the trade war between the two superpowers due to its large number of Chinese students.

“We Don’t Want Our Crown Jewels to Be Stolen”

Both the factory and the university are facing challenges. ASML is unable to sell its cutting-edge machinery to China due to trade restrictions despite China’s efforts to invest in advanced machinery. This is a significant loss for ASML, as China was a valuable customer.

The company has also invested in the Eindhoven University of Technology to train doctoral students and modernize a building for the study of chips and semiconductors. In May, the company promised to bestow the university with an €80 million ($87 million) investment to achieve these goals. It also has a 10-year collaboration agreement to create 40 Ph.D. positions each year.

However, the U.S. government is pressuring ASML to limit Chinese technological development, which is also affecting the university’s student body. According to Bloomberg, Robert-Jan Smits, president of the Eindhoven University of Technology, has mentioned fielding questions from Americans about Chinese students.

Smits revealed that Shefali Razdan Duggal, the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, questioned and warned him about the high number of Chinese students studying in the country. “We get the message to be careful with Chinese students but who is giving all kinds of visas to Chinese students to go to American universities? The U.S. government,” Smits said.

Smits criticized the double standard and the excessive scrutiny faced by both ASML and the Dutch university. The U.S. has concerns due to the university’s strong ties with ASML and the presence of ASML lithography machines in one of the university’s research laboratories.

However, the U.S. isn’t the only country concerned about the ASML and the Eindhoven University of Technology. The Dutch government is preparing a law to restrict Chinese students from enrolling in certain programs related to semiconductor and defense technologies.

The universities in the Netherlands independently assess “sensitive program” applications from students and researchers. In 2022, out of 89 questions sent to the government, 52 were about China, 21 were related to Russia, and 16 were about Iran.

For now, it’s only a bill, and Eppo Bruin’s discourse, the Netherlands’ Minister of Education, seems ambivalent: “We do not have the luxury to be naive any longer… At the same time, we need a nuanced approach. There are many brilliant Chinese students.” For his part, Smits claims they’re being “extremely careful” about who they “give access to [their] top-notch sensitive technology.”

“We don’t want our crown jewels to be stolen,” he says.

Huawei Is Always in the Spotlight

The recent conflict involving ASML and the Eindhoven University of Technology has drawn attention due to events that have transpired in the past few months, prompting the U.S. to take action.

When Huawei released the Mate 60 Pro in 2023, it raised concerns in the U.S. Despite being subject to sanctions in 2019, Huawei continued to release smartphones. The Mate 60 Pro, in particular, featured the Kirin 9000S SoC. Produced by Huawei and SMIC, it demonstrated China’s capability to manufacture an SoC using advanced lithography.

As a result, the U.S. launched investigations, and ASML’s confirmation of the theft of confidential information further escalated the situation. Huawei engineers allegedly used the stolen information to develop the chip. Moreover, some discovered unauthorized components in the Mate 60 Pro, fueling allegations of espionage.

In any case, the Mate 60 Pro launch brought Huawei to the top of the sales charts, a position it hadn’t held in years, and has instilled confidence in the Chinese industry. This has positioned the company as a strong mobile and AI chip technology contender, rivaling companies like Nvidia.

This year has been rife with suspicions of espionage. Three major Chinese telecom companies in the U.S. are under scrutiny, while authorities arrested three individuals in Germany for stealing military technology. Moreover, Huawei has been implicated once again, this time with an alleged Chinese spy put on trial for stealing technology from SK Hynix for the benefit of the Chinese company.

Time will tell how things will unfold, but the situation is far from over, considering that China continues to advance its lithography development plans while the U.S. intends to tighten sanctions. In addition to trade restrictions, the U.S. is also seeking to prevent ASML from servicing machines sold to China before the sales restrictions imposed last year.

This article was written by Alejandro Alcolea and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.

Image | ASML

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