European chip equipment giant ASML has launched a project designed to discover and foster key engineering talent in China, in the latest show of its commitment to the market despite intensified US restrictions on advanced chipmaking technologies.
The Dutch lithography system maker has launched a science competition aimed at deepening public understanding of lithography 鈥 the critical process of etching circuit patterns onto silicon wafers 鈥 and fostering new tech talent in the country, according to a post on its official WeChat account.
The online competition, open from late June through early July, and featuring 20 questions, targets Chinese semiconductor professionals and science enthusiasts. The top 16 contestants would have the opportunity to interview for a job at the company, while another 75 top scorers would be included in the firm鈥檚 potential talent pool, according to its statement.
The competition is committed to creating a 鈥渨indow for contestants to deeply explore lithography technology鈥, while cultivating talent to 鈥渏ointly promote the evolution of Moore鈥檚 Law鈥, according to the statement.
The initiative signals ASML鈥檚 willingness to invest in and search for new talent in China, despite the fact that Washington has been tightening restrictions on the country鈥檚 access to advanced chipmaking technologies, including those from US allies such as the Netherlands and Japan.
Most of China鈥檚 lithography machines are still sourced from the company, despite Dutch restrictions on access to ASML鈥檚 cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet machines since 2019, as well as curbs on exports of certain deep ultraviolet machines since last year under rules imposed by the Biden administration.
However, ASML has continued to show its commitment to the mainland Chinese market. In March, it disclosed plans to build a 鈥渞euse and repair鈥 centre in Beijing this year, which would be an upgrade of existing facilities.
Mainland China was the company鈥檚 largest market in 2024, representing a 36.1 per cent share of total sales, overtaking Taiwan for the first time, according to its annual report.
ASML, however, said it expected revenue from China to fall in 2025, as the company cleared its backlog of orders from Chinese customers.
鈥2025 will be a year where we see China going back to a more normal ratio in our business,鈥 CEO Christophe Fouquet said in January. 鈥淪o I think we鈥檙e going to see again [the] numbers people used to see before 2023.鈥
Separately, China has been upping the ante in recruiting talent for its own lithography industry, which is regarded as one of the biggest bottlenecks in the country鈥檚 drive for chip self-sufficiency.
The Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, an organisation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences that develops lithography systems, offered 鈥渦ncapped鈥 pay for PhD researchers in certain positions, according to a job posting in March.