China News Agency Amsterdam | July 21, according to a report from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the global lithography machine giant ASML from the Netherlands is facing a serious challenge. Its former chairman, Peter Wennink, recently warned that the key technology export ban against China may actually encourage China to accelerate its independent research and development of high-performance lithography machines.

Due to the U.S. policy of restricting high-tech exports to China, ASML's stock price has dropped by about one-third from its peak last summer. In addition, former U.S. President Trump's comments this April about possibly imposing tariffs on China have added a second layer of political risk for ASML.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung pointed out that the additional tariffs could cause the price of ASML's high-end lithography machines to jump from $250 million to $325 million, and the company's CFO warned that this would have a significant impact on the global economy.

The report points out that the combination of tariff risks and structural pressures brought by Chinese innovation are shaking ASML's dominant position.

Early this year, there were reports that a Chinese company's DeepSeek AI model can effectively utilize relatively low-end chip technology, which may reduce the urgent demand for advanced process technologies in the market.

The report further raises a core underlying issue that has not been thoroughly discussed: How long can ASML's technological monopoly last? How are China's progress in independently developing lithography equipment?

Regarding this, ASML has made a cautious forecast, preparing plans for a potential "zero growth" in 2026 — this industry leader has never experienced such a bleak performance outlook in the past decade.

First review: Li Xia

Second review: Zhang Yishan

Third review: Fu Yingjuan

Production: China News Agency

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7529334453190001179/

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