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China-EU relations
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Beijing urges Dutch government to push for China visit by Nexperia execs

China’s Ministry of Commerce says trip by Dutch chip firm’s management should be made ‘as soon as possible’ amid heated war of words

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The corporate conflict between Dutch semiconductor company Nexperia and its Chinese owner Wingtech has lasted for several weeks. Photo: Shutterstock
Xiaofei Xuin Paris

China has urged the Dutch government to push the Netherlands arm of semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia to send personnel to China, Beijing’s commerce ministry said during a press conference on Thursday.

The Dutch embassy in China has been asked to urge The Hague’s Ministry of Economic Affairs to “implement the consensus reached in consultations” and encourage the Nijmegen-headquartered company to dispatch its representatives to China “as soon as possible”, ministry spokesman He Yadong said.

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Wingtech, Nexperia’s Chinese owner, recently sent an invitation asking its subsidiary’s independent directors and equity trustee to visit China to discuss corporate control and restoring stability to the global supply chain.

The ministry spokesman hailed the move, calling it a “positive development” and a show of Wingtech’s “good faith”, adding that Beijing has helped facilitate negotiations to sort out the dispute.

Before the letter, the two companies had been engaged in a war of words that has lasted several weeks, with each accusing the other of an unwillingness to talk.
Ministry spokesman He also urged the Dutch government to create “favourable conditions” for internal talks between the two companies by revoking the now-suspended administrative order that allowed The Hague to temporarily take control of Nexperia, and convincing former Nexperia executives to withdraw their lawsuit from the Dutch Enterprise Chamber.

He reiterated Beijing’s position that the Nexperia saga is the result of “improper administrative intervention by the government in corporate operations” and that the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs bears chief responsibility for the situation.

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Vincent Karremans, the Dutch economy minister, admitted to his country’s lawmakers last week that he was blindsided by China’s decision to restrict the export of Nexperia chips finished within its borders – a countermeasure that stalled roughly 70 per cent of the company’s chip shipments.

“An assessment was made of possible counterreactions; this wasn’t the most likely reaction from China,” Karremans said.

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