Chinese President Xi Jinping told Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to avoid ‘decoupling’, amid United States pressures to stop selling high-end chips to China.
As the two leaders met in Bali, Indonesia, for the Group of 20 – G20 – summit, the Chinese leader emphasized the need for cooperation. Bejing would work with the Netherlands to “maintain and practice genuine multilateralism,” as reported by the Chinese tv station CCTV.
The role of the Netherlands
Eindhoven and the Netherlands are home to ASML, the largest producer of chipmaking devices. The United States is thus pressuring the Netherlands to reduce the sales of advanced semiconductors and equipment to China.
Rutte is visiting South Korea later this week – another giant semiconductor player worldwide. From the beginning of October onwards, American officials said multiple times that they could ban the sales of US technology if partners don’t align with Washington’s policy.
Yesterday – November 14 – US President Joe Biden and Xi held their first-ever face-to-face meeting and agreed on continuing cooperation on several topics, including climate policy and foreign policy.
