The Netherlands' government on Wednesday said it plans new restrictions on exports of semiconductor technology to protect national security, joining the U.S. effort to curb chip exports to China.
The announcement marked the first concrete move by the Dutch, who oversee essential chipmaking technology, toward adopting rules urged by Washington to hobble China's chipmaking industry and slow its military advances.
The U.S. in October imposed sweeping export restrictions on shipments of American chipmaking tools to China, but for the restrictions to be effective it needs other key suppliers in the Netherlands and Japan, who produce key chipmaking technology, to agree. The allied countries have been in talks on the matter for months.