OPINION / EDITORIAL
A single report ‘brings down’ ASML’s stock: Whose anxiety does it expose?: Global Times editorial
The evaporation of massive market value due to an industrial report shows that Western investors’ blind faith in the effectiveness of “blockades” has been shaken, and the US-led “decoupling” strategy has lost much of its momentum. One day, the technologies once used to constrain China’s development will simply become ordinary components of its independent industrial system.An industrial report by US tech media regarding a breakthrough in China’s domestic lithography development sent shockwaves through global stock markets between Monday and Tuesday. From Europe and the US to Japan and South Korea, companies tied to the global chip equipment supply chain saw their stock prices drop, with Dutch lithography giant ASML taking a “hit” of roughly 7 percent on Monday. That an unconfirmed report could trigger such violent market volatility illustrates current paranoia of some forces in the West regarding China’s technological rise.The evaporation of massive market value shows that Western investors’ blind faith in the effectiveness of “blockades” has been shaken, and the US-led “decoupling” strategy has lost much of its momentum. Though they may not admit it openly, they know in their hearts that a Chinese breakthrough in “chokepoint” technologies is merely a matter of time.In recent years, the US has strengthened the implementation of the Wassenaar Arrangement, which imposes technology controls on other countries, to repeatedly impose restrictions and sanctions on China’s high-tech sectors while pressuring its allies into a “chip alliance,” all aimed at severing China’s access to advanced technologies. However, they have overlooked a fundamental truth: Technological blockades are always mutually destructive. By locking others out, one also forfeits the market and space for cooperation. China boasts the world’s largest semiconductor consumption market, backed by a complete industrial system and a vast pool of engineers – conditions that guarantee Western blockades will not succeed in the long run. Even Western tech companies like ASML understand that once China achieves a genuine breakthrough, their market share will face a direct hit. Therefore, the stock price fluctuations triggered by this unconfirmed report were not merely emotional knee-jerk reactions, but also a realistic risk assessment by the industry.While the West talks about fair competition, it has increasingly relied on administrative power, industrial coercion, and media smear campaigns to impose ever-tightening restrictions on China’s key technology sectors, seeking to keep China locked into the lower end of the industrial chain. Every step China takes in advancing its R&D is met with another round of export controls. At its core, this approach reflects insecurity and anxiety. If they were truly secure in their technological lead, there would be no need to suppress competitors through executive orders, let alone become rattled by an unverified rumor. Their unease suggests they are far less certain about preserving their technological lead than they would like to admit. Deep down, they may already recognize – and have even begun to accept – that the era of Western technological monopoly is unlikely to last much longer.Every advance China has made in science and technology has been earned through decades of sustained investment, perseverance, and accumulated expertise – not through anyone else’s generosity. Of course, we hope others will sell us the most advanced equipment, but we’re not afraid if they don’t. Critical technologies are fundamentally scientific and engineering issues. With a clear direction and steady progress forward, solutions can always be found. By contrast, attempts to undermine the progress of other countries through technological blockades may buy the West some time, but they cannot alter the long-term trajectory. Time and again, experience has shown that the tighter the restrictions, the stronger China’s resolve to break through; the greater the containment, the steadier the pace of Chinese innovation.Looking back at the West’s reactions to China’s technological progress over the years reveals a telling shift – from ridicule and dismissal, including calls to “send China back to the Stone Age,” to growing anxiety and suppression, and now to seeing threats in every shadow. This evolution speaks for itself. It is not that they fail to recognize China’s rise; rather, they are unwilling to accept it. Within the Western narrative, cutting-edge technologies can only be exclusively held in Western hands. Any breakthrough China achieves in a strategic field is viewed as a challenge to Western hegemonic order. In reality, the semiconductor industry is one of the clearest examples of the global division of labor. No country should hope to preserve an absolute advantage through isolationist policies over the long term. Whatever details of the reported development remain to be verified are ultimately secondary. Given China’s vast industrial base, formidable capacity to learn, and growing innovation capabilities, achieving breakthroughs in key technologies will be the inevitable result of market forces and technological evolution.The sense of alarm surrounding such reports reflects a broader reality: Attempts to contain China through technological hegemony are increasingly out of step with the direction of history. Barriers built on export controls and technological monopolies cannot stop China’s determination to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology. One day, the technologies once used to constrain China’s development will simply become ordinary components of its independent industrial system. For China, the task now is simply to stay focused, keep doing the work, and not be distracted by the external buzz.
