‘We will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with the Chinese authorities’, the Dutch economic affairs minister said.
The Netherlands has suspended its takeover of the Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia after the two nations had “constructive meetings”.
In a statement today (19 November), the Dutch minister of economic affairs Vincent Karremans said that the Netherlands is positive about the measures taken by China to ensure chip supply to Europe and the rest of the world.
“We see this as a show of goodwill. We will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with the Chinese authorities in the period ahead,” he said.
The company seizure began on 30 September, when the Dutch government invoked the Goods Availability Act, pointing to “serious governance shortcomings” at Nexperia, while citing a “threat” to Europe’s semiconductor capabilities as a result of the company’s moves.
This meant that decisions made at Nexperia could be blocked or reversed by the Dutch government if deemed “harmful” to the company or its future as a Dutch and European business, as well as to preserve it as a crucial part of Europe’s semiconductor value chain.
Responding to the seizure, China halted Nexperia chip exports its Chinese facility in early October, which resulted in a disruption affecting nearly three-quarters of the company’s output. On 9 November, however, the export ban was lifted.
The Dutch-headquartered Nexperia – an offshoot of NXP – was acquired by China’s contract manufacturing giant Wingtech Technology in 2018.
Nexperia is a vital part of the global automotive industry, making chips that form the basis of several functionalities in cars. The chipmaker is one of many vital companies that expose global interdependence in major industries, with around 70pc of Nexperia’s chip output sent to China to finish production before being exported globally. The company supplies chips to Volvo, JLR and Volkswagen, among many more.
In the statement issued today, the Dutch government said that concerns around Nexperia stemmed from the now-suspended CEO Zhang Xuezheng, who took part in the “improper transfer of product assets, funds, technology and knowledge to a foreign entity”.
Speaking to the Guardian last week, Karremans said that Xuezheng was looking to relocate Nexperia’s wafer production to China. He said that he has no regrets about taking the drastic move. The Chinese commerce ministry expressed “extreme disappointment and strong dissatisfaction” over the Dutch minister’s response.
While Wingtech said: “Minister Karremans justified his actions by accusing Nexperia’s CEO of various acts of alleged mismanagement. Wingtech strongly rejects these accusations and points out that, to date, no proof has been provided.”
Last year, the US government added Wingtech to its Entity List – a designation given to companies that could pose a risk to the country’s national security. In 2022, the UK government ordered Wingtech-owned Nexperia to undo its acquisition of the Newport Wafer Fab, citing a national security risk.
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