US Suspects Traitors Smuggling Tech to China, Voices Concerns to the Netherlands

The United States has revealed suspicions that traitors are secretly infiltrating China, referring to entities that violate US export sanctions and continue doing business with China. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick conveyed these suspicions during a series of meetings with senior leaders of Dutch companies. Bloomberg reported that Lutnick had spoken to Dutch chipmaking equipment firm ASML, which is known to be close to the US. There are concerns that one of ASML’s advanced machines, the EUV, may have reached China. ASML denied these concerns and confirmed it has not shipped the tool to China. The chip manufacturer also stated that its equipment requires specialised maintenance from company employees. EUV, or extreme ultraviolet lithography, is a tool used to print tiny chip circuits. The machine is the size of a school bus and weighs up to 180 tonnes. ‘ASML has never shipped an EUV machine to China and has never shipped any module components or equipment specifically designed for use in an EUV machine to China,’ an ASML spokesperson said in an official statement to Bloomberg, as quoted by Reuters on Friday (19/6/2026). Meanwhile, the US Commerce Department, ASML, and the White House did not immediately provide comment. Previously, Reuters reported in December that Chinese scientists had undertaken a ‘Manhattan Project’ by developing a prototype EUV machine. The tool was built by a team of former ASML engineers. Sources cited by Reuters said the Chinese-made machine is operational and has successfully produced extreme ultraviolet light, though it had not yet produced a functioning chip at that time. In April, ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said China would need a long time to develop the technology, but the existence of the prototype suggests China could achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency sooner than expected.