The Nexperia Semiconductor incident has once again been pushed to the forefront of public opinion. Last Thursday, Dutch chipmaker Nexperia suddenly issued an open letter, claiming that it made "repeated attempts to establish direct communication through conventional channels" with Nexperia China but did not receive "any meaningful response." The open letter urged Nexperia's entities in China to "take immediate steps" to restore the supply chain. Such posturing creates a misleading impression in the international public sphere, as if the chaos in the supply chain were the fault of the Chinese side. On the evening of Friday, Wingtech Technology, the sole legal shareholder of Nexperia, released an official statement filled with detailed facts, directly pointing out that the Dutch company's open letter "contains a large number of misleading and untrue allegations, as well as false information."
It is clear to any discerning observer that the Dutch side is engaging in a form of narrative coercion that deliberately inverts cause and effect, attempting to rewrite the public narrative with a single open letter by presenting itself as a "victim" that has been "repeatedly denied communication." Yet just one day before the Dutch side issued this "open letter of blame-shifting," Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao made it abundantly clear in a video call with the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security that the Dutch side's improper administrative and judicial interventions in the company have still not been lifted, and the global semiconductor supply chain has yet to return to normal. Wang pointed out that the Netherlands' decision to suspend its administrative order on November 19 marked a small step toward resolving the issue, but there is still a distance from reaching the core of the issue and the relevant intervention measures have not be revoked yet. As a result, the uncertainties faced by the supply chain remain huge.
Tracing the incident to its origin, the Dutch government's crude administrative rewriting of corporate property rights laid the groundwork for all the subsequent chaos. According to public information, on September 30, the Dutch government abruptly gave an order to "seize control" of Wingtech's wholly owned Dutch subsidiary Nexperia under the pretext of "Dutch and European economic security." The company's shareholding structure, corporate governance, and business expectations undergone severe disruption. The legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese company have been seriously infringed. Under administrative pressure from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, the corporate court issued an erroneous ruling depriving Wingtech Technology of control over Nexperia B.V., thereby institutionalizing the illegal takeover through administrative means and creating a key obstacle to resolving the issue.
Moreover, after Dutch government's forced illegal intervention triggered global supply chain alarms, Nexperia B.V. did not work to repair its cooperation with its Chinese subsidiary. Instead, it adopted extreme measures such as cutting off wafer supplies to its Chinese assembly plant, further amplifying already acute supply chain risks. Even after the Chinese side, in order to safeguard global supply chain stability, granted targeted exemptions for qualifying exports, the Dutch company refused to take the opportunity to de-escalate. Instead, it claimed that the exemptions were merely "progress" and offering "alternative supply chain solutions" to bypass the existing supply chain by directly selling and shipping wafers to customers.
As a key link in the global automotive and electronics supply chain, Nexperia's chips are primarily produced in Hamburg, Germany, then packaged and assembled in China before being supplied to automakers such as BMW and Volkswagen. These products are high-volume, widely used, and essential intermediate goods. In a supply chain that is so deeply integrated and tightly interdependent, abruptly taking control of the company on "unfounded" security grounds is no longer a prudent intervention under normal regulatory practice, but an administrative seizure of established property rights. The concept of "national security" of Dutch side is being endlessly broadened and has become a fig leaf for actions that clearly run counter to basic business logic.
Although the prompt restoration of Nexperia's production and supply aligns with the expectations of all stakeholders and the open letter from Nexperia B.V. conveys anxiety that "customers across industries are still reporting imminent production stoppages," it must be pointed out that the current deadlock was created entirely by the Dutch side. Those who tied the knot must untie it: If the Dutch side wants to clean up the semiconductor supply chain mess, it needs to show more sincerity. An open letter that confuses right and wrong and shifts blame will only prolong a crisis now borne by the global supply chain. The Dutch government should promptly revoke its improper order and, through open, transparent, and predictable procedures, conduct a thorough review and substantive correction of its earlier administrative missteps. It should return to the principles of contract and market logic and stop externalizing the consequences of its own policies onto Chinese companies and global clients.
What the Dutch side should do is not to "suspension of temporary takeover," but a permanent withdrawal. So far, we have not seen the Dutch courts make corresponding adjustments. A statement released by Wingtech on Friday also confirms that the Dutch side has not yet returned control of Nexperia to the Chinese company, nor has it offered any protection for shareholders' lawful rights. Under such circumstances, the two sides simply lack the foundation for any "constructive dialogue." The world is now watching closely to see whether the Netherlands can confront the core issue and take bigger steps in the right direction.
Source: Global Times