China urges Netherlands to correct Nexperia 'mistakes'

BEIJING: China urged ⁠the Netherlands on Wednesday (Dec 31) to correct what it said were "mistakes" in relation to chipmaker Nexperia and remove obstacles to ensuring the stability of the global chip production and supply chain.

In ⁠September, the Netherlands took control of Nexperia, a Dutch subsidiary of ‍Chinese firm Wingtech, saying it aimed to stop the founder from moving company secrets and production to China.

Beijing retaliated by blocking the export of Nexperia's chips, used in ⁠cars and consumer electronics, most of which are packaged in China.

"China once again urges ‍the Netherlands not to act unilaterally, but to immediately correct its mistakes and clear the obstacles to restoring the stability and security of the global semiconductor supply chain," the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement.

The Dutch government was not immediately available for comment early on Wednesday.

In November, the Dutch government suspended its intervention ‌in Nexperia as a gesture of goodwill, as talks with China continued.

Wingtech has since started talks with court-appointed custodians ‍of ‌Nexperia over control of the Netherlands-based chipmaker, but Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans has defended his decision to intervene in Nexperia.

In a recent interview with De Telegraaf, Karremans again defended his move to take control of Nexperia.

"I wouldn't characterise it as enjoyable, but it ‌was necessary," he told the Dutch daily. "And I don't let my decisions be guided by whether they're enjoyable or not."

The Chinese commerce ministry described the Dutch position as "perplexing".

"China has repeatedly emphasised that the Netherlands' inappropriate administrative interference in the internal affairs of Nexperia has led to a crisis in the global semiconductor supply chain, and the Netherlands must bear full responsibility for this."