The dispute between the Dutch and Chinese parts of the chip manufacturer Nexperia continues. The dispute that broke out at the end of September has already led to disruptions in the automotive industry’s supply chains.
The Dutch part of Nexperia called on its Chinese parts of the company to resume normal production in an open letter on Thursday. Nexperia B.V. I have tried repeatedly and several times to establish a dialogue with the Nexperia units China to be restored, the letter said. Unfortunately, no substantive answers were received.
China had that Netherlands previously asked to take “practical measures”. Trade Minister Wang Wentao (61) said this to German Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (52; CDU) in a video conversation, as his ministry announced on Thursday. The global semiconductor supply chain remains very fragile because the Dutch side has not lifted its “undue administrative and legal interventions” in the company. The government’s decision in The Hague last week to suspend the takeover of Nexperia does not go far enough for Beijing. China is demanding a complete withdrawal of the measure.
Dutch government took control of Nexperia
Nexperia’s supply chain has been disrupted since the Dutch government took control of the company on September 30. The reason given at the time was that they wanted to prevent the former CEO from relocating European activities from the Netherlands to China. The Chinese side then declared itself no longer subordinate to European leadership.
Nexperia manufactures the majority of its products in Hamburg and then sends them to China, from where they go to customers. The company, owned by China’s Wingtech, produces billions of simple but widely used chips for cars and other electronics. Bottlenecks in these components had recently threatened the supply chains of car manufacturers and led to production delays.
In Germany, the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) declared a week and a half ago that it was too early to speak of an all-clear. The chip shortage could also impact supply chains in the auto industry in the coming weeks.