In the dispute over chip manufacturer Nexperia, its Chinese owner has rejected the Dutch government’s actions. The dismissal of a Nexperia manager in the Netherlands China “Not legally valid,” said the Wingtech group. The company reserves the right to take “all legal steps”.
“Mr. John Chang’s employment contract has not been legally terminated or modified, and his position as vice president of global sales and marketing at Nexperia remains valid,” it said. “He will continue to carry out his current duties.” The Wingtech group accused the Dutch government of “impairing the company’s interests and arbitrarily creating chaos and disputes.”
Netherlands deposed company boss
Nexperia is a subsidiary of the Chinese company Wingtech. The Dutch government took control of Nexperia on September 30th and had the company boss deposed by court order, as was only announced about a week ago.
The responsible ministry in The Hague justified the move by saying that there were risks to Europe’s economic security. The aim is to transfer important technologies from Nexperia China to prevent. There are also “serious deficiencies in corporate governance” at Nexperia.
The background is the trade dispute between the USA and China. Wingtech is blacklisted in the US because of alleged threats to national security. According to court documents, the US government pressured the Netherlands to take the step.
“Measure is not directed against China”
The Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof (68) defended the approach as a “very sensible step”. “We have to take action against mismanagement by a company boss,” he said in Brussels.
According to Schoof, he spoke to other heads of state and government about the situation at Nexperia on the sidelines of the EU summit, including Chancellor Friedrich Merz (69; CDU). “There were a lot of misunderstandings,” Schoof said, adding that after his explanation there was more understanding about how the Netherlands had acted. The measure was not directed against China, but rather specifically against “this renegade company boss,” said Schoof.
Federal government wants to mediate
The federal government now wants to try to mediate between China and the Netherlands. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič (59) wants to push for a solution at a meeting with Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao (61) in Brussels next week.
According to Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (52), the conflict will take some time, especially for the German auto industry. “The situation has not yet been resolved, but we are really working on it,” said the CDU politician at one Ukraine-Visit to Kyiv.