The leading Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML said on September 2 that it employed more than 1,500 employees in China as of the end of August, reported Pandaily on September 13.

ASML currently has 15 offices, 11 warehousing and logistics centers, three R&D centers, one training center, and one maintenance center in China.

According to the firm’s financial report, in the first quarter of 2022, it sold 62 lithography systems, of which the Chinese mainland market accounted for 34%, surpassing that of South Korea and Taiwan to become its largest market for lithography systems, said the Pandaily report.

The company also designated September 1 as its annual “ASML China Day,” upon which all domestic employees will enjoy an extra day off.

ASML delivered its first stepper to the Chinese market in 1988 and formally established its China company in 2000.

Bloomberg reported in July that Washington D.C. had put pressure on the Netherlands to prohibit ASML from selling key equipment needed to produce chips to China. In response, on July 20, Nikkei Asia reported that Peter Wennink, the CEO of ASML, told investors, “I think we need to realize that China is an important player in the semiconductor industry, especially not [only] in the matured node, but also mainstream semiconductors. It is a very significant supplier of the global markets. So we just have to be careful what we’re doing.”

In June this year, ASML also said that in order to support the growth of its business in China, it would continue to expand its Chinese team this year, with plans to recruit more than 200 employees.