The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) warned in a July report that China is building overlapping forms of leverage around the Netherlands’ critical position in advanced chipmaking, while Dutch safeguards remain geared toward individual transactions and isolated incidents.
HCSS rated semiconductors in the Dutch industry facing the highest strategic risk, citing cyberespionage, employee-enabled technology acquisition, commercial exposure, dependence on Chinese-controlled raw materials, and Beijing’s ability to apply economic and legal pressure. Maritime industries ranked second, followed by aerospace.
The assessment centers on the Dutch corporation ASML, the sole producer of extreme-ultraviolet lithography systems used to make the most advanced chips. The report argues that the risk is not simply that Beijing wants Dutch technology, but that China can pursue that goal through several channels over time….
Dutch Report Warns China Is Building Leverage Over Europe’s Chip Chokepoint
