Recently retired global leading chip manufacturer ASML CEO Peter Wennink stated on Saturday (July 6th) that the chip war between the United States and China is related to ideology, therefore, this dispute will continue.
According to Reuters, Peter Wennink, who retired from the Dutch company ASML, the largest technology company in Europe, in April after ten years, mentioned that since 2018, the United States has increasingly imposed restrictions on the company’s exports to China (the second largest market after Taiwan) for security reasons. Recently, the US has tried to prevent ASML from providing maintenance to some equipment sold to Chinese customers.
Wennink said in an interview with Dutch BNR Radio, “Such discussions are not based on facts, content, numbers, or data, but on ideology.”
“You can think about this freely, but we are a company that must balance the interests of stakeholders. If ideology directly hinders this, then I will encounter problems.”
He mentioned that the company has had customers and employees in China for over 30 years.
Wennink stated that in order to seek balance, he has lobbied as much as possible to prevent export restrictions from becoming too strict. At the same time, when he believes that the company’s intellectual property is not being protected, he complains to senior Chinese political figures.
“In Washington, perhaps sometimes they think, ‘Mr. Wennink might be a friend to China,'” he said.
“No. I am a friend to customers, suppliers, employees, and shareholders.”
He predicted that considering the geopolitical interests at stake, the chip war may take several decades to end.
“This situation will continue for a while,” he said.