Caught in the crossfire. The Dutch government intervened to take effective control of the Chinese group Nexperia. According to national media, this “exceptional measure”, announced on Sunday afternoon, gives the authorities a veto right over the strategic decisions of the Asian company.
The State can now “block or cancel” any Nexperia initiative, preventing it, in particular, from selling assets or hiring administrators without its prior agreement.
“Geopolitical prejudices”
Wingtech, parent company of Nexperia, strongly denounced what it describes as “discriminatory treatment.” In a statement, the computer group, partially owned by the Chinese state, accused local authorities of “excessive interference” motivated by “geopolitical prejudices”, while announcing its intention to challenge this acquisition through all legal and diplomatic means.
The Dutch decision to take control of the electronic chip maker marks a major new step in technological tensions between Beijing and the West. This measure, justified by “a risk to Dutch and European economic security”, is part of a context of growing rivalry around key technologies such as semiconductors, essential for artificial intelligence. This illustrates once again the direct involvement of the United States in the European strategy to counter Chinese influence, with Europe finding itself at the center of an intense geopolitical confrontation between Washington and Beijing.
Tension escalation
Nexperia, a subsidiary of partially state-owned IT giant Wingtech Technology, produces entry-level electronic chips used in consumer electronics, automobiles and industry. With production centers in Germany and the United Kingdom, the company plays a key role in supplying the Old Continent.
Its CEO and shareholder, Zhang Xuezheng, was recently suspended from his duties by the courts, a measure that would be directly linked to US demands. According to a court document released Tuesday, U.S. officials told Batavian authorities that Zhang Xuezheng’s continued leadership of Nexperia jeopardized any chance of exemption from the U.S. list of companies considered a threat to national security.
This list, recently expanded by the US Department of Commerce, now subjects any subsidiary that owns more than 50% of a sanctioned company to the same restrictions as its parent company.
This measure, based on a law dating back to the Cold War, also provoked an immediate reaction from Beijing: the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for respect for “market principles” and denounced the politicization of economic issues.
In fact, China reaffirmed on Thursday its firm opposition to this action by the Netherlands, considering that it “violates” the spirit of the contractual agreements. He Yongqian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, stressed that this administrative intervention risks harming not only the Dutch business environment, but also its partners.
According to her, this decision, in addition to weakening investor confidence, could have repercussions far beyond the borders of the Netherlands.
Semiconductors at the center of the crisis
The Nexperia episode amplifies tensions between Washington and Beijing, marked by the strengthening of US export controls at the end of September. In response, China tightened its restrictions on rare earth exports, prompting threats of new tariffs from the Trump administration.
Above all, it reveals the trap in which “third party” countries find themselves, caught between the United States and China in the semiconductor war. This sector, worth almost $600 billion, has become a geopolitical battleground.
The current crisis, born of post-Covid shortages and Sino-American escalation, has pushed Washington to block Chinese actors’ access to these strategic technologies. In response, the great powers are accelerating the relocation of their production, such as the United States, which convinced the Taiwanese TSMC, the world leader, to install a megafactory in Arizona.
Faced with this race for autonomy, China is giving itself the means: it now covers between 20 and 30% of global capacities. Between American pressures, Chinese retaliation and European attempts to preserve their industrial sovereignty, the Nexperia case illustrates the European dilemmas of the 21st century: the search to reconcile economic alliances, national security and technological independence, when each decision runs the risk of offending one or another of the superpowers.
Source: BFM TV
