Tensions between China and the Netherlands over the state of chipmaker Nexperia have begun to ease, but the battle for company control doesn’t appear to be entirely resolved yet.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Thursday announced that it had approved export licenses and exemptions to facilitate the resumption of chip exports from Nexperia’s China operations. While the Dutch-headquartered, Chinese-owned company runs front-end manufacturing in Germany and the UK, a significant share of its chip packaging and distribution takes place in China. The move should ease the concerns that Europe’s automotive industry, which relies heavily on Nexperia-manufactured chips, could face shortages.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce doesn’t appear to be done wagging its finger at its Dutch counterpart for its act of placing Nexperia under government control, however, describing the situation as arising from Dutch officials’ “inappropriate interference” in Nexperia’s internal affairs.
“The Netherlands should bear full responsibility for this,” Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson He Yadong said during a Thursday press conference, according to a Google-translated transcript. “China hopes that the Netherlands will act responsibly and meet China halfway, stop interfering in the internal affairs of companies, and find a constructive solution to the Nexperia issue.”
The Dutch government invoked the Goods Availability Act against Nexperia on September 30, giving the Minister of Economic Affairs veto power over major corporate decisions at the chipmaker. Reports last month suggested the move aimed to prevent Nexperia from transferring sensitive chip technology to its Chinese parent company, Wingtech, which has denied those reports as politically motivated.
Nexperia CEO Zhang Xuezheng, removed after the government’s intervention, further claimed that the company’s Chinese division was effectively operating as an independent entity following Dutch action. Nexperia denied those claims.
Regardless, Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans issued a statement Thursday welcoming the news that China was resuming exports of Nexperia chips from China to Europe. Glaringly missing from Karremans’ statement, however, was any mention of relinquishing government control over the firm.
“The Netherlands will closely monitor and support these developments, and will take the appropriate steps on our part where necessary,” Karremans said. “Furthermore, the Netherlands will remain in close contact with the Chinese authorities and will coordinate closely with European Commission and international partners in this matter.”
The Ministry noted that the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, which suspended Zhang and appointed a court-nominated non-executive director, had found “sufficient reason to doubt proper governance and proper business conduct at Nexperia.”
“It is crucial to let the proceeding under the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal stay independent of government interference,” the Economic Affairs Ministry said.
When asked what that meant for the status of the Dutch invocation of the Goods Availability Act against Nexperia, the Ministry had nothing to add beyond Karremans’ statement. In other words, this affair might not be entirely over quite yet, though according to unnamed sources who spoke to Bloomberg, the Dutch government may be preparing to rescind the order. ®