日本將加入美國對中國芯片出口收緊的努力

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Japan to Join US Effort to Tighten Chip Exports to China

Takashi Mochizuki, Cagan Koc and Peter Elstrom

Tue, December 13, 2022 at 6:05 a.m.

(Bloomberg) -- Japan and the Netherlands have agreed in principle to join the US in tightening controls over the export of advanced chipmaking machinery to China, according to people familiar with the matter, a potentially debilitating blow to Beijing’s technology ambitions.

The two countries are likely to announce in the coming weeks that they’ll adopt at least some of the sweeping measures the US rolled out in October to restrict the sale of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, according to the people, who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The Biden administration has said the measures are aimed at preventing Beijing’s military from obtaining advanced semiconductors.

The three-country alliance would represent a near-total blockade of China’s ability to buy the equipment necessary to make leading-edge chips. The US rules restricted the supply from American gear suppliers Applied Materials Inc., Lam Research Corp. and KLA Corp. Japan’s Tokyo Electron Ltd. and Dutch lithography specialist ASML Holding NV are the two other critical suppliers that the US needed to make the sanctions effective, making their governments’ adoption of the export curbs a significant milestone.

“There’s no way China can build a leading-edge industry on their own. No chance,” said Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon.

On Monday, China filed a dispute over the US export controls with the World Trade Organization, the country’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. Beijing said the restrictions threaten the stability of the global supply chain and that America’s national-security justification is dubious.

But the global opposition to China’s chipmaking ambitions is mounting. Bloomberg News reported last week that Dutch officials were planning new export controls on China. The Japanese government agreed to similar restrictions in recent weeks since the two countries wanted to act in concert, the people said. Japan had to overcome opposition from domestic companies that would prefer not to lose sales into China, one of the people said. Besides Tokyo Electron, Nikon Corp. and Canon Inc. are minor players in the market.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The three countries are the world’s top sources of machinery and expertise needed to make advanced semiconductors. ASML shares closed down 1.4%, paring an earlier decline of as much as 2.8%.

Senior US National Security Council official Tarun Chhabra and Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez were in the Netherlands late November to discuss export controls, Bloomberg reported, while Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo talked about the same issues with METI chief Yasutoshi Nishimura via teleconference last week.

With the move, Dutch and Japanese officials will essentially codify and expand their existing export control measures to further restrict China’s access to cutting-edge chip technologies.

The two governments are planning to impose a ban on the sale of machinery capable of fabricating 14-nanometer or more advanced chips to China, the people said. The measures align with some rules Washington set out in October.

The 14nm technology is at least three generations behind the latest advances available on the market, but it is already the second-best technology that China’s chipmaking champion Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. owns.

Asked at a briefing Monday in Washington about a potential agreement with Japan and the Netherlands, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said “I’m not going to get ahead of any announcements.”

“We are very pleased with the candor, the substance and the intensity of the discussions that are taking place across a broad range of countries who share our concerns and would like to see broad alignment as we go forward,” he said. “Alignment is a priority for us. We’re working towards that.”

--With assistance from Debby Wu, Jenny Leonard, Jordan Fabian and Ian King.

Translation

（彭博社）- 據知情人士透露，日本和荷蘭原則上同意加入美國，加強對向中國出口先進芯片製造機器的控制，這可能會削弱北京的技術雄心。

據因為無權就此事公開發言而不願透露姓名的人士稱，兩國可能會在未來幾週內宣布，他們將至少採取美國 10 月份推出的部分全面措施，以限制先進半導體製造設備的銷售。 拜登政府曾表示，這些措施旨在阻止北京軍方獲得先進的半導體。

三國聯盟將代表對中國購買製造尖端芯片所需設備的能力的近乎全面封鎖。 美國的規定限制了美國設備器材供應商 Applied Materials Inc.、Lam Research Corp. 和 KLA Corp. 的供應。日本的 Tokyo Electron Ltd. 和荷蘭光刻專家 ASML Holding NV 是美國使製裁生效所需的另外兩家關鍵供應商 ，使他們的政府採用出口限製成為一個重要的里程碑。

Sanford C. Bernstein 分析師 Stacy Rasgon 說: “中國不可能靠自己建立一個領先的產業。 沒有機會” 。

中國商務部在週一在一份聲明中表示，中國就美國出口管制向世界貿易組織提出争議。 北京表示，這些限制威脅到全球供應鏈的穩定，美國的國家安全理由值得懷疑。

但全球對中國芯片製造雄心的反對聲越來越大。 彭博社上週報導稱，荷蘭官員正計劃對中國實施新的出口管制。 知情人士說，由於兩國希望採取一致行動，日本政府最近幾周同意採取類似的限制措施。 其中一位知情人士說，日本必須克服國內公司的反對，這些公司不願失去對中國的銷售。 除 Tokyo Electron 外，Nikon Corp.和 Canon Inc.也是市場上較細小的參與者。

日本經濟產業省未回應置評請求。

這三個國家是世界上製造先進半導體所需的機械和專業知識的主要來源。 ASML 股價收盤下跌 1.4%，收復了早些時候高達 2.8% 的跌幅。

據彭博社報導，美國國家安全委員會高級官員 Tarun Chhabra 和負責工業與安全的商務部副部長 Alan Estevez 於 11 月下旬在荷蘭討論出口管制問題，而上個星期商務部長 Gina Raimondo 通過電話會議與 METI 負責人Yasutoshi Nishimura 討論了同樣的問題。

通過此舉，荷蘭和日本官員實質上將法規化和擴大其現有的出口管制措施，以進一步限制中國獲得尖端芯片技術。

知情人士說，兩國政府計劃禁止向中國出售能夠製造 14 納米或更先進芯片的機器。 這些措施與華盛頓在 10 月份制定的一些規則吻合。

14nm 技術至少比市場上最新的技術落後三代，但它已經是中國芯片製造之冠中芯國際擁有的頂級以外最好的技術。

週一在華盛頓舉行的簡報會上，當被問及與日本和荷蘭可能達成的協議時，美國國家安全顧問沙利文說： “我不會提前宣布任何消息。”

他說： “我們對廣泛的國家之間正在進行的坦誠、實質和激烈的討論感到非常高興，這些國家與我們有共同的擔憂，並希望在我們前進的過程中看到廣泛的一致”; “步伐一致是我們的首要任務。 我們正在為此努力。”

              So, the Netherlands and Japan are planning to impose a ban on the sale of machinery capable of fabricating 14-nanometer or more advanced chips to China. Obviously, from now no China will need to develop its chipmaking machinery technology on its own and this will take time and money to do. Let’s see how CCP will handle this new challenge.