"US-China Rivalry Sparks Tech Boom for China's Chip Equipment Firms"
The United States has implemented new rules to restrict the sale of chip-making machinery to China, particularly targeting the complex lithography machines that are crucial for China's efforts to develop its own chip-making industry. The rules require companies worldwide to obtain a special license from the US government before sending certain types of chip-making machines to China. This move could significantly hinder China's chip-manufacturing ambitions and represents an unusual flexing of American regulatory power. The restrictions particularly affect machines that use deep ultraviolet (DUV) technology, mainly manufactured by the Dutch firm ASML, which dominates the lithography market. The US decision to regulate equipment manufactured outside the country if it contains even one American-made part gives American officials new influence over companies in the Netherlands and Japan.