Japan to join U.S. efforts to curb high-end chip exports to China

Tokyo, 28 January, /AJMEDIA/

Japan and the Netherlands agreed Friday to join the United States in limiting exports of high-end semiconductor technology to China, U.S. and Dutch media reported.

The deal was struck after the United States in October unveiled sweeping export controls on certain advanced chips that could be used by China to train artificial intelligence systems and power advanced military and surveillance applications.

It could take several months for Japan and the Netherlands to implement the restrictions as they need to prepare domestic legislation, Bloomberg said.

Earlier in the day, White House national security spokesman John Kirby suggested the U.S. government will make an announcement once the talks are concluded.

He confirmed during a press briefing that Japanese and Dutch officials have been in Washington for “a couple of days’ worth of discussions” on a range of issues that are important to the three countries and “certainly the safety and security of emerging technologies is going to be on that agenda.”

As high-tech competition between the United States and China intensifies, Japan has found itself caught between its security ally and its biggest trading partner, which depends on imports of high-end chips and equipment to manufacture various products.

In response to the U.S. restrictions, China filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization in December, arguing Washington has been “abusing” its control measures by expanding the notion of national security.

The United States has asked Japan and the Netherlands for cooperation in stymieing China’s efforts to develop high-end semiconductors, with Tokyo Electron Ltd. and ASML Holding N.V. major players in the global chip-manufacturing equipment market.

When Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Washington in mid-January, he agreed with U.S President Joe Biden to “sharpen our shared edge on economic security” by protecting critical technologies, such as semiconductors.

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