How is it going to be?

The Netherlands’ ASML, the only company in the world with EUV lithography technology for printing chips, and Taiwan’s TSMC, which produces chips directly on machines, have ways to disable production equipment in the event of an intrusion. They will be able to do this remotely, which means that the seized equipment for China will turn into a garbage heap.

The U.S. government has expressed concern to both companies about what would happen if China’s goals were realized and turned into an attack on the island that supplies the vast majority of the world’s advanced semiconductors. It will not be possible to replace them quickly (not least because each lithography machine costs 200 million euros), so the entire planet will face consequences for regional and global economies such as history has not yet seen. The capacity of other chip companies is definitely not enough. In addition, TSMC leaves all its competitors several generations behind, thanks to its unique technologies.

ASML reassured officials of its capabilities disable machine remotelyWhen the Dutch government contacted the company about this threat. They added that the Netherlands had even run simulations of a possible invasion to better assess the risks.

Remote shutdown is valid ASML series of extreme ultraviolet devices, known in the industry as EUVTSMC is its largest customer. EUV creates chips for consumer electronics, artificial intelligence and military applications by using high-frequency light waves to print the smallest transistors in chips. Such machines can be the size of a bus and require regular maintenance and upgrades; hence this is another reason why they do not work in China’s hands (unless of course the country can find people with sufficient knowledge on this subject).

ASML technology has long been the target of government intervention aimed at preventing it from falling into the wrong hands. The Netherlands, for example, bans the company from selling EUV machines to China due to fears that the United States could give the Communist Party an advantage in the global chip war.

Let us remind you that China has long declared the island of Taiwan as its own territory, and President Xi Jinping both advocates peaceful reunification and does not exclude military intervention. However, today there is no military buildup on the coast. While Taiwanese politicians have tried to “downplay the threat of an impending invasion,” according to Bloomberg, China has focused primarily on stabilizing its economy, which has suffered from a recent slowdown and numerous problems.