Japan is about to murder its IC equipment industry
China fears Japan’s chipmaking curbs go further than US restrictions
New export rules could encompass equipment for making older-generation semiconductors
China’s semiconductor industry fears Japanese curbs on exports of crucial chipmaking equipment will be so broad that they risk hitting its production of lower-grade silicon, used in everything from cars to washing machines. Tokyo has said it intends to put restrictions on exports of 23 types of crucial chipmaking equipment from July, as it aligns itself with the US and the Netherlands in implementing sweeping export controls that could limit China’s access to cutting-edge chips.
However, Chinese industry executives who have examined the fine print of the
intended rules say they could potentially go further than the US in restricting China’s ability to make semiconductors. “Japan’s export controls will be more disturbing to China than Washington’s sanctions last year,” said a Chinese chip factory executive, who did not wish to be named.
However,
Japan’s specifications encompass chips as basic as 45nm, in export controls for equipment such as that used in immersion lithography provided by Nikon, because some of the technology can be essential in producing advanced chips.
A Chinese government official who works closely with chipmakers said the Dutch lithography giant ASML only expected restrictions on machines that produced advanced chips, while
its smaller rival Nikon would face more extensive limits in Japan.
One person close to ASML said the company was still awaiting final details from the Dutch government, which is expected to spell out its restrictions by mid-July.
“What the Japanese government is saying is
that they will require licences for everything — whether they grant those licences or not is the question . . . the Japanese are further ahead than us,” the person said.
“We are concerned about whether the US and Netherlands governments will issue export controls as strict as Japan’s,” said a government official working closely with Chinese fabrication plants.