China may have tried, partly outside export restrictions, to acquire know-how and goods in the Dutch aerospace sector, the Dutch military intelligence service (MIVD) said on Wednesday, as quoted by AFP.

semiconductorPhoto: Massimo Brega, The Lighthouse / Sciencephoto / Profimedia Images

“The Netherlands remains an attractive espionage target for China,” MIVD warns, “especially in the semiconductor industry, quantum technology, aerospace and maritime industries,” it said.

In 2022, the service “detected and thwarted various attempts by China to acquire (military) technology,” its chief Jan Swillens said in an annual report.

“Dutch companies, Dutch institutions and scientists are being targeted,” he further warned.

“China is rapidly developing advanced weapons with advanced technology,” Swillens said, referring to “various types of anti-satellite weapons of a very destructive nature.”

China is intensively working on launching satellites into space, the MIVD reported. Beijing plans to conduct 100 launches a year, up from about 40 in 2020.

These are mainly “information satellites, surveillance, intelligence (ISR) and communication satellites,” the MIVD said.

“Pioneers of quantum communication networks in space”

In addition, the MIVD said that the Chinese want to introduce quantum communication networks in space, which will provide faster and safer communication around the world.

“This form of communication is more difficult to intercept,” providing a “major military advantage,” according to the MIVD.

The Ministry of Interior has also identified some of the front companies used by China to circumvent export restrictions.

The Dutch intelligence service (AIVD) has already warned on Monday that China represents “the biggest threat to the economic security of the Netherlands”.

The Dutch are a leading European manufacturer of equipment for the production of microcircuits, critical electronic components for smartphones, connected cars and military equipment.

Under pressure from the United States, The Hague announced in March that it was halting exports of chip-making technology for security reasons.

The decision has been sharply criticized by China, which needs Dutch-made machines from ASML, Europe’s leading semiconductor manufacturer, to produce the chips.