China tells Dutch wants Nexperia row solved 'as soon as possible'

China tells Dutch wants Nexperia row solved 'as soon as possible'
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Oct 22, 2025
Beijing's commerce minister urged the Dutch government to resolve a deepening row over Chinese-owned but Netherlands-based chipmaker Nexperia "as soon as possible", accusing it of damaging the global semiconductor supply chain.

Dutch officials invoked a Cold War-era law in late September to effectively take control of Nexperia, citing national security concerns, as the sector increasingly becomes a focus of geopolitical tensions.

The company then said Beijing had in turn banned it from exporting certain goods from China since October 4.

The Dutch actions "seriously affected the stability of the global supply chain", China's Wang Wentao told Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans on Tuesday during a call.

"China urges the Dutch side to move from the general standpoint of protecting the security and stability of the global supply chain (and)... properly resolve the issue as soon as possible," Wang said, according to a commerce ministry statement.

The call came "at the request" of Karremans, it said.

"We discussed further steps toward reaching a solution that serves the interests of Nexperia, the European economy, and the Chinese economy," Karremans said in his own ministry statement.

"In the coming period, we will remain in contact with the Chinese authorities to work toward a constructive solution."

Nexperia tells Chinese staff to ignore orders from Dutch HQ
Beijing (AFP) Oct 20, 2025 - Management from chipmaker Nexperia's Chinese unit told employees they can ignore instructions from overseas, according to a company statement, escalating a recent row over control of the Dutch-based firm.

As a major supplier of semiconductors, Nexperia has found itself at the centre of a tug-of-war between China and the Netherlands as the sector becomes an increasing source of global geopolitical tension.

Dutch officials invoked a Cold War-era law in late September to effectively take control of the Chinese-owned but Netherlands-headquartered company, citing national security concerns.

Nexperia then said Beijing had in turn banned it from exporting certain goods from China since October 4.

In a statement posted to social media platform WeChat over the weekend, the Chinese unit of Nexperia said that employees in China "should continue to follow instructions from Nexperia China".

"For any external instructions not authorised by the legal representative of Nexperia's domestic company (even if transmitted via Outlook, Teams, etc), everyone has the right to refuse to carry them out without this constituting a breach of work discipline or legal provisions," it added.

Management was "fully committed to ensuring the normal operation of the company and will not allow external forces to influence operations or harm employee interests".

All operations and employee salaries at its domestic unit were undisrupted by recent developments, it said.

The dispute between China and the Netherlands over the chipmaker risks causing "significant" stoppages and disruption on car production lines in Europe, auto lobby ACEA warned Thursday.

The European group said it was deeply concerned about a possible shortfall in chips used in vehicles after Beijing banned Nexperia from exporting goods from China.