On December 12, ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet discussed in an exclusive interview that the company was banned from exporting all EUV equipment and the most advanced deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography equipment to China. He reiterated his view that "technology should be exported to China appropriately to prevent its independent research and development from becoming competitive." He further claimed that the West needs to find a delicate balance when it comes to restrictions on technology exports to China.
"China will never accept the situation of being 'stuck' in terms of technology," he explained. "If you are a big country with a population of 1.4 billion, you must seek technological progress. This is an indisputable fact."
Fouquet came up with the idea that the West could maintain China's dependence on Western technology by refusing to provide China with the "latest and best products" while slowing down China's independent technological progress.
According to him, the equipment currently exported by ASML to China is eight generations behind the latest high numerical aperture lithography technology. The technical level is equivalent to the company's products sold to Western customers in 2013 and 2014. The technology gap is more than ten years.
"But the crux of the matter is, to what extent do we want to widen this technological gap? Will China fall behind by 5 years, 10 years, or 15 years?" Fouquet then worried that if the West tightens restrictions excessively and pushes China to a desperate situation, forcing China to have no choice but to completely get rid of its dependence on Western technology, it will instead force China to determine to independently develop alternative products.In the long run, this will result in the West completely losing this huge market.
"China has already achieved independent research and development in many fields. Over time, they may even export these products to us." He added.
As the interview came to an end, Fuquet still had confidence in its technological advantages.He said, "Lithography technology is still difficult to completely replace... and the entire ecosystem is extremely interconnected. It is not only about the lithography technology itself, but also how our lithography equipment integrates into the customer's entire production process."
