back to article Chinese semiconductor industry: This Western chip ban alliance stinks

China's main semiconductor trade organization has released a statement opposing the alliance between Japan, the Netherlands, and the US to restrict chip exports to the country. "CSIA opposes the act of interfering in global trade liberalization, distorting the balance of supply and demand," said the China Semiconductor …

  1. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Strange game

    The only wining move is not to play

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Strange game

      Is that not War Games?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nothing good will come of this IMHO

    The problem here is that the main instigator does so with a massive dose of self interest. I'm not a fan of China, but I also dislike dishonest conduct and the US is rather transparently engaging in falsifying competition.

    The real reason behind the efforts to impose restrictions on China are simply because the US presently cannot compete. This became very clear during the whole Huawei affair where the company was blackballed mainly because it was years ahead in 5G tech (which also disproved the meme at the time that they stole the IP - from whom, as everyone was behind), and to date it remains the only company whose firmware was formally screened and found to be free of backdoors - evidence rather lacking for all other gear. "Trust us" - not ever, thank you.

    I am thus disappointed that especially the Netherlands have sacrificed their neutrality to help damage global competitiveness because it disincentivises companies to innovate - other than in political games..

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Nothing good will come of this IMHO

      They way I heard it described was as violent white folk rallying to keep the black folk out of their neighbourhood and letting their mates across the river know they must support them if they know what is good for them.

      Todays enemy is of course yellow not black and in addition to the red one they previously rallied against.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Not quite...

      The Netherlands did not "sacrifice their neutrality".

      The research and technology to produce the EUV equipment was developed in the US and licensed by Congress under certain circumstances (please visit Wikipedia "EUV Lithography".

      They would lose their license from the US.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not quite...

        Given that only the Dutch managed to make it actually work with substantial investment and help from other European entities it's questionable if that license still has relevance, but yes, these laws are weird and murky to start with.

  3. Zippy´s Sausage Factory
    Unhappy

    My immediate thought is how much more attractive an invasion of Taiwan now seems for the Chinese government.

    "If we don't have the industry here, we'll invade there - either we get to take over the industry (we win) or it gets destroyed (less capacity, so suddenly they need us - and we also win)"

    I suspect other factors will come into play, but I don't find it reassuring personally.

    1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

      That also means barring China from accessing chips is the right thing to do.

    2. SundogUK Silver badge

      Note that the Dutch and Japanese companies mentioned don't make chips. They make the tools required to make chips, and maintain a constant presence in the fabs to keep them running. If China invades, those tools will no longer be available and all China will have is some useless factories.

      1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

        I think they may be quite aware of that and they already have clones of these tools, but perhaps not the latest ones.

        When something unpleasant hits the fan, nothing would stop them from kidnapping the workers and ensuring they keep the fabs running, as Russia did.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          These machines are extreme high precision tools that require regular maintenance - which would vanish if the Chinese would invade. I'd give it a few months, tops, before they ended up with so many mask defects that it would be a waste of time to operate.

      2. gp-donkey

        That's why the "Invasion of Taiwan" is pure propaganda.

        1. jansaigon

          You might want to check out China's own statements, where they repeatedly call for military invasion if necessary, not to mention the constant air sorties & grey zone harassment.

  4. elsergiovolador Silver badge

    "CSIA opposes the act of interfering in global trade liberalization, distorting the balance of supply and demand," said the China Semiconductor Industry Association.

    Well, they should blame Winnie the Pooh. Russia has been using trade liberalization to bolster and modernise its army, so they could attack Ukraine.

    We can see the same being done by China, manoeuvring around Taiwan and threatening their independence.

    China also expressed approval towards Russian Nazism and you could see many Chinese officials would love to have done the same in Taiwan.

    That being said, I think there should be no chips for China for foreseeable future. They should clear up their conmunist party from bloodthirsty imperialists first and then we'll see.

    Ideally they should disband conmunist party altogether.

    1. gp-donkey

      "Russian Nazism" - what a dope.

  5. DenTheMan

    Wake me up before it all goes go.

    This can only lead to China restricting exports of essential goods such as lithium batteries and metals for turbine motors.

    Tesla is relying on Chinese technology more and more so jaw jaw is certainly better than an escalating war war.

  6. StrangerHereMyself Silver badge

    Of course

    Of course they'd say this, wouldn't they? China is being boxed in and effectively neutralized with sanctions, although we don't call them that. We call it "voluntary abstention" or something to that effect.

  7. quadibloc2

    Obvious Response

    If China feels that Western semiconductor restrictions are causing serious harm to the world economy, there is an obvious alternative open to them to resolve this. The United States is putting restrictions on the sale of Western technology to China because this technology could be, and has been, used by China for mililtary purposes.

    So all China has to do is abolish its military, and then there would be no reason for sanctions. This would eliminate a lot of the friction between the United States and China, particularly after regime change.

    1. Rattus
      Mushroom

      Re: Obvious Response

      Or you could do the same thing? Abolish the USA military.... Yep I expect you are offering me the same response to my 'suggestion' that the Chinese are giving to yours.

      Sorry dude - that one is never gonna fly

      /Rattus

  8. gp-donkey

    Fortunately, China is developing lithography alternatives, May take a few years, but it's gonna happen.

    Meanwhile, here in the Matrix, Team USA is shooting down ham radio balloons to avoid the Sy Hersh Nord Stream story.

    1. tooltalk

      Doesn't require much efforts to build old pithos as SMEE already did with 28nm last year (with help from Japan). It is however widely acknowledged that china is going to need at least 10-20 years to develop their own EUV without rightout theft.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like