Korea’s SK Hynix was captured during a US-China war against semiconductors

US opposition to South Korea chipmaker SK Hynix plans to plant a plant in China threaten the company’s competition, underscoring the seriousness of the growing segment of the technical dispute between Washington and Beijing.

SK Hynix, the world’s second largest memory maker, wants to upgrade its Wuxi factory in eastern China, which produces about 40 percent of Dram memory chips, which facilitates the temporary storage of photos, phones and servers.

The company intends to develop ultraviolet light, or EUV, chip machines, next-generation equipment manufactured by the Dutch company ASML. Researchers said the EUV machine should be set up over the next three years to allow SK Hynix to partner with chip manufacturers worldwide, such as Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology, at a faster rate to increase productivity and reduce costs.

S Paul Choi, Seoul’s founder for StratWays Group’s political affairs program, said US efforts to secure access to essential technologies while refusing to relocate to China are worrying South Korea.

The US demand in September for semiconductor manufacturing companies to provide more information about chip availability and demand, statistics and various customer segments was a major concern, he said.

“The US is worried that the technology will be transferred to China, but many Koreans are worried that their technology will be transferred to the US,” Choi said. “The Korean people do not want to be armed with the Chinese but they do not want to be armed with the Americans.”

The US has intensified its campaign to reduce the transfer of technical assistance to China. Biden Government Wednesday set a twelve Chinese companies participating in quantum computers and other advanced technologies in the export chain.

Katherine Tai, a U.S. trade representative, told Korean radio this week that the issue was “very serious” and “there are legitimacy. anxiety of threats to national security depending on where the technology ends “. Researchers said the US could block the sale of ASML for EUV machines in China because the equipment includes US technology.

U.S. President Joe Biden has been looking at ways to make it harder for China to acquire high technology, especially for semiconductors, in an attempt to reduce Beijing’s military experiments.

In addition to negotiations with South Korea, Washington negotiated with the Dutch government if ASML, the world’s largest arms manufacturer, be allowed to sell its EUV technology to a Chinese chipmaker.

SK Hynix has tried to allay US security concerns by saying it has no immediate plan to install EUV machines at its Wuxi plant and is the first to make Dram chips using next-generation weapons at its Korean factory.

Lee Seok-hee, chief executive of SK Hynix, told reporters Monday that his company would respond to US concerns “wisely in consultation with interested parties”.

A senior Korean company official warned that SK Hynix rivals such as Samsung could face similar challenges as they try to introduce more sophisticated weapons to their Chinese brands, although Samsung did not want EUV machines in its chipmaking factory in China.

As it works to prevent high-tech imports from being exported to China, Biden regulators have been pushing foreign chip manufacturers to increase production in the US. On Wednesday, Samsung announced it was making a $ 17bn high end chip plant in Taylor City, Texas.