'No force' can stop China's tech progress, Xi Jinping tells Dutch PM

Hong Kong CNN — Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte that "no force can stop China's scientific and technological development." Xi's comments come as a chip war rages between China and Western countries, including the Netherlands, which is home to ASML — the world's sole manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines needed to make advanced semiconductors. "Artificially creating technological barriers and cutting off industrial and supply chains will only lead to division and confrontation," Xi told Rutte during a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday, according to a readout published by China's foreign ministry. There was…