Dutch PM Raised Asml in Talks With China's Ding 

Dutch PM Discusses ASML and Trade Relations with China's Ding

AMSTERDAM - Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof held "critical conversations" with visiting Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, he said on Friday, including discussions on human rights and on semiconductor equipment supplier ASML.

The Dutch government has introduced progressively tighter restrictions on exports of ASML's chipmaking tools to China, one of its biggest markets, under pressure from the United States - a policy that Beijing has objected to.

Schoof told reporters his meeting in The Hague this week with Ding had been mostly positive and he had accepted a reciprocal invitation to travel to China later this year.

"China is an extremely important trade partner, particularly for the Netherlands, and that means you have to take that into account in all your meetings," Schoof said.

Separately, Schoof said the Dutch government did not expect a change in policy from U.S. President Donald Trump on semiconductor equipment exports - and that the Netherlands decides its own export policies - but that the two countries remain close allies.

"We have to wait for what the American government comes forward with," Schoof said, adding that his government has had contacts with Trump administration officials "at various levels".

China's foreign ministry on Thursday said Ding had told Dutch dignitaries that China wants to work with the Netherlands to ensure global supply chains run smoothly.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Barbara Lewis)