The Netherlands is considering new legislation to screen international students studying technology for security risks, a spokesperson said on Monday (12 July).
The news follows a series of moves from universities to restrict Chinese students’ access to Dutch technology – as the US urges The Netherlands to restrict its leading technology to China.
Several Dutch universities have already rejected Chinese students in receipt of scholarships from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) – over fears of their loyalty to the communist regime.
All students receiving scholarships through the CSC are made to swear an oath to the communist party and regularly report to the Chinese embassy in the country where they study, according to Dutch newspaper Trouw.
All students must also return back to China within two years of completing their studies, the publication reported.
Robert Dijkgraaf, education minister, has echoed the fears of universities and claimed he has set up a study to investigate security concerns.
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By GlobalDataIn an interview with the Financial Times, Dijkgraaf said: “In general, the targeted use of grant programmes to obtain high-quality knowledge and technology for the state is undesirable.
“I have set up a study to see how many CSC researchers there are in the Netherlands and in which fields they are active.”
Dijkgraaf denied any legislation to “exclude Chinese students” or to “discourage cooperation with Chinese institutes or researchers in sensitive fields”.
The comments follow the US applying pressure on the Dutch government to restrict China’s access to its semiconductor technology.
The Dutch government has been caught in the crossfire of the US-China chip war due to ASML, an extremely important semiconductor manufacturer based in the Netherlands.
ASML, which stands for advanced semiconductor materials lithography, is the only company in the world that develops extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines.
This highly advanced technology is required for every single advanced processor chip being manufactured today – making ASML an extremely important company.
The US recently announced that a license would be required for the export of advanced silicon chipmaking machines from ASML.
However, the Dutch trade minister, Liesje Schreinemacher, shared fears that China may attempt to evade the controls by infiltrating Dutch universities.
“If you want a certain technology, you first try to buy the technology. If that doesn’t work, you try to invest. If that doesn’t work, you send people to the technology institutions to get the technology or to get the knowledge of that technology,” she said in an interview.
Adding: “We need China for our R&D and also for our green transition. But we also have to see which students from which countries we allow to access all research.”
GlobalData Thematic Data reports that China will become the world’s leading semiconductor superpower on the basis of its growing domestic demand for chips.
The export restrictions to China have proved difficult for ASML, as sales to the country provided around 20% of the company’s revenue.
GlobalData is the parent company of Verdict and its sister publications.
