US allegations: China is said to have ASML’s most modern chip machine

The Dutch chip machine manufacturer ASML is facing new allegations from the US government. They are said to have information that a particularly advanced lithography machine has arrived in China.

Sanctions possibly broken

According to the report, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raised the issue in several meetings with ASML management, the news outlet reported Bloomberg. The focus was on EUV lithography systems (Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography), which are considered a key technology for the production of state-of-the-art semiconductors. Contract manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) use these systems to produce high-performance processors for technology companies such as Nvidia and Apple.

The export of these machines to China has been prohibited for years. During Trump’s first term in office, the USA had already implemented corresponding restrictions to limit China’s access to the latest chip technology. Against this background, possible indications of circumvention of export rules are attracting attention in Washington.

ASML firmly rejects any accusation of being involved in such a sanctions move. The company emphasizes that it has never delivered an EUV machine to China. Special components or modules that are intended exclusively for the operation of such systems were also not exported to the country. A company spokesperson said ASML complies with all applicable regulations, according to Bloomberg.

Hardly possible without ASML

According to the group, the technical complexity of the systems also speaks against an unnoticed transfer. The ultra-modern systems are only manufactured in very limited quantities, are the size of a school bus and weigh around 180 tons. In addition, they require ongoing maintenance by specially trained ASML employees. It would therefore be unlikely that an EUV system was secretly transferred to China by a customer and is being operated there.

The topic comes at a time when ASML is extremely successful economically. Just at the beginning of the month, the group’s market value became the first listed company in Europe to exceed the $700 billion mark. Investors continue to rely on the company’s central role in the global semiconductor market, which is receiving strong tailwind, particularly from the boom in artificial intelligence applications.