Xi tells Dutch prime minister: No force can stop China’s tech advance
Summary
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - MARCH 23:Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte meets with the President of the Peoples Republic of China Xi Jinping at the Catshuis March 23, 2014 in The Hague, Netherlands. (Photo by Valerie Kuypers-Pool/Getty Images Chinas technological progress cannot be stopped, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte when they met in Beijing Wednesday for talks on areas such as the critical semiconductor industry. "The Chinese people also have legitimate development rights, and no force can stop the pace of Chinas scientific and technological progress," said Xi, according to Xinhua News Agency. Semiconductor chips are critical components which can be found in everything from smartphones to automobiles. In January, the Netherlands barred ASML from exporting some of its deep ultraviolet lithography systems to China, which are used to make slightly less advanced chips.