WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden's administration plans to press the Netherlands next week to stop its top chipmaking equipment maker ASML from servicing some tools in China, two people familiar with the matter said, as the U.S. leans on allies in its bid to hobble Beijing's tech sector. Alan Estevez, the U.S. export policy chief, is scheduled to meet in the Netherlands next Monday with officials from the Dutch government and ASML Holding NV to discuss the servicing contracts, the people said. Washington may also be seeking to add to a list of Chinese chipmaking factories restricted from receiving Dutch equipment as part of the discussions, one of the people said.
Taiwan is awaiting a decision from the US government regarding a waiver extension for Taiwanese chipmakers to supply US chip equipment to their factories in China. Last year, the Biden administration implemented export controls to cut off China from certain semiconductor chips made with US tools.
President Joe Biden goes Sunday to a Vietnam that's looking to dramatically ramp up trade with the United States - a sign of how competition with China is reshaping relationships across Asia.
Strikes at Chinese factories have surged to a seven-year high and are expected to become more frequent as weak global demand forces exporters to cut workers' pay and shut down plants, one rights group and economists say. Exports and factory output in the world's second-largest economy tumbled in May, as looming downturns force the United States and Europe to pare back orders for goods made in China. "We believe that the drop in manufacturing orders and that factory closures will continue," said Aidan Chau, researcher at Hong Kong-based rights group China Labour Bulletin (CLB).