Dutch exports to China dropped dramatically in March, a sign that shipments from ASML Holding – the world leader in the producer of lithography equipment used to make semiconductors – neared clearing a backlog of orders from China.
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Under restrictions adopted by the Dutch government under pressure from Washington, ASML is not permitted to sell its most advanced equipment to Chinese buyers. But for almost two years, massive purchases of its lower-end products have pushed Dutch shipments to China through the roof, bucking a broader trend of falling Chinese demand for European goods.
The trend suggested Chinese buyers were stocking up on the equipment before such sales would be eventually outlawed due to Washington-enforced restrictions.
In March, however, exports fell by 10.4 per cent compared to a year earlier in value terms, according to statistics released by China’s customs agency on Monday. As recently as December, January and February, the trade was growing strongly, with Dutch exports to the world’s second largest economy soaring 11 per cent over the course of 2024.
The drop, however, was not fully unexpected. In a video interview in January for the release of the Dutch tech giant’s year-end financial results, CEO Christophe Fouquet said the company would soon have cleared its backlog of orders from China.
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“We had a lot of discussion about China in 2023-2024 because our revenue in China was extremely high. We have explained that this was caused by the fact that we are still working on some backlog created in 2022, when our capacity was not big enough to fulfil the whole market,” Fouquet said.
“2025 will be a year where we see China going back to a more normal ratio in our business. So I think we’re going to see again numbers people used to see before 2023,” he added.