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BEIJING, January 28 (TMTPOST) —— The United States, the Netherlands, and Japan have reached an accord on restrictions on the sale of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, according to reports made on Saturday.

According to the agreement, Dutch semiconductor giant ASML Holding NV and major Japanese precision equipment maker Nikon Corp. are expected to limit their sales to China. The White House did not respond directly, saying only that issues of importance to all three parties were discussed. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan"s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Nikon all declined to comment on reports, and so did Tokyo Electron Device.

The export restrictions are expected to be effective in months in Japan and the Netherlands as they need to ratify the agreement first. The Dutch industry argued that the U.S. approach would force China to develop advanced chipmaking technology on its own. Last October, the United States announced a series of export control measures in the field of the integrated circuit to impose restrictions on China in terms of technology, products, equipment, and services.

Japan and the Netherlands are poised to form a strong alliance with the United States to limit China"s access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment and jointly crack down on China"s ambitions to build its chip capacity.

China"s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said earlier that the US had repeatedly abused export control for the sake of hegemony and its interest. Such behavior will not only harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies but also undermine the stability of the global industrial and supply chain. China hopes that relevant countries can distinguish right from wrong and jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system and the stability of the global industrial and supply chain.