China blames Amsterdam for global chip supply chain disruptions
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Beijing condemns Dutch curbs on Nexperia, saying The Hague’s actions undermine global semiconductor stability and violate fair business principles.
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The head office of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia stands in Nijmegen, Netherlands, Tuesday, October 14, 2025 (AP)
China has sharply criticized the Dutch government for what it called “unlawful intervention” in semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia, blaming the decision for destabilizing global chip supply chains.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued the condemnation on Friday, responding to Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans, who told The Guardian a day earlier that the Netherlands had no regrets about restricting the company, calling it “a wake-up call to Europe and the West.”
“China is extremely disappointed and strongly dissatisfied with such a statement, which distorts the facts, confounds black and white, and persists in willful actions,” the ministry said in a statement carried by Xinhua.
Beijing argued that the global semiconductor industry remained “stable and secure” prior to the Dutch intervention, which it said interfered in the normal commercial operations of a private company. Nexperia, headquartered in the Netherlands but owned by Chinese conglomerate Wingtech, controls key semiconductor technology used across multiple industries.
Seizure 'impulsive move'
“The Netherlands’ unlawful intervention and seizure of 99% of the shares of a private enterprise is a violation of the spirit of the contractual relationship and an unwise and impulsive move that has caused widespread controversy,” the Chinese ministry added. “It is the real cause of the disorder and chaos in the global semiconductor supply chains.”
The Dutch government moved to assert control over Nexperia in October, citing concerns about safeguarding Europe’s technological capacities. Officials pointed to alleged serious mismanagement at the company before a Dutch court removed Nexperia CEO Zhang Xuezheng from his post.
China, in turn, imposed restrictions on exports from Nexperia’s Chinese factories, escalating the dispute and fueling broader tensions between Europe and China over strategic technologies.
The clash comes amid growing
of Chinese involvement in critical infrastructure and the semiconductor industry, a sector already strained by geopolitical rifts and persistent supply challenges.
Why Nexperia matters
Nexperia is a global leader in high-volume discrete semiconductors, diodes, transistors, and power components, used across automotive systems, industrial controls, and consumer electronics.
These parts are not the most advanced chips, but they are built in very large volumes and are frequently “designed-in” to vehicle platforms and supplier systems, which makes them operationally indispensable for many automakers. Disruption to Nexperia’s flows, therefore, creates immediate and systemic risks rather than isolated component shortages.
Beijing’s curbs on exports from Nexperia’s Chinese factories followed the Dutch government’s invocation of emergency powers under the 1952 Goods Availability Act, a rarely used measure taken on September 30, which places the company under temporary state oversight amid concerns over governance and the potential transfer of strategic capabilities.
The Chinese export control notice, issued in early October, prohibited certain finished components and sub-assemblies from leaving China, a move that directly threatened the steady supplies Nexperia provides to European suppliers and carmakers.
The Dutch government’s use of the Goods Availability Act marks an unprecedented expansion of the law, which was originally intended for wartime shortages, not operational oversight of a foreign-owned tech company. By applying it to secure continuity of industrial supply, the move sets a concerning precedent: future governments could invoke emergency powers against strategic foreign investments during political or economic tensions.
