Tag Archives: nationalization of Nexperia

How Does it Feel to Beg China? Netherlands Knows

Dutch chipmaker Nexperia has publicly called on its China unit to help restore supply chain operations, warning in an open letter published on its website  on November 28, 2025 that customers across industries are reporting “imminent production outages.” Nexperia’s Dutch unit said that is open letter followed “repeated attempts to establish direct communication through conventional channels” but did not have “any meaningful response.” The letter marks the latest twist in a long-running saga that has threatened global automotive supply chains and stoked a bitter battle between Amsterdam and Beijing over technology transfer.

In a statement, Wingtech Technology, Nexperia’s Chinese parent stated that Nexperia’s true intent is to buy time ” to construct a ‘de-China-ized’ supply chain and permanently strip Wingtech of its shareholder rights.”

The situation began in September 2025, when the Dutch government invoked a Cold War-era law to effectively take control of Nexperia. The highly unusual move was reportedly made after the U.S. raised security concerns.

Beijing responded by moving to block its products from leaving China, which, in turn, raised the alarm among global automakers as they faced shortages of the chipmaker’s components.

In an apparent reprieve on November 19, 2025, however, the Dutch government said it had suspended its state intervention at Nexperia following talks with Chinese authorities…But while the measures to seize the Dutch Nexperia subsidiary have been lifted, the restoration of the corporate structure and relation with parent company Wingtech has yet to be accomplished.

Excerpt from Sam Meredith, What’s going on at Nexperia? China’s Wingtech escalates war of words with Dutch chipmaker, CNBC, Nov. 28, 2028

Nationalizing a Crown Jewel: the case of Nexperia

U.S. officials’ warning to their Dutch counterparts was stark: If they wanted a Netherlands-based chip maker to avoid being put on a trade blacklist, it would almost certainly have to remove its Chinese owner as CEO. “The fact that the company’s CEO is still that same Chinese owner is problematic,” American officials said in a June 2025 meeting on the topic. The Americans soon got their wish. In September 25, 2025, the Dutch economy ministry seized control of Nexperia from China’s Wingtech Technology. The next day, a Dutch court granted an emergency petition to suspend Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng as Nexperia’s CEO and put all but one of the semiconductor company’s shares under external management.

China quickly fired back at the seizure, ordering Wingtech in early October to suspend exports of Nexperia of chips that the company has long sent for packaging and testing in China…The Dutch economy minister said in a letter to parliament that he moved to seize control of Nexperia based on evidence that the CEO was moving quickly to shift production capacity, financial resources and intellectual property to China, not because of pressure from any other country… The Dutch government and Dutch and German executives of the company had tried for months to ringfence the company’s business from Chinese control to accommodate domestic concerns—and avoid being hit by the U.S. blacklist… Dutch officials told Nexperia that the coming expansion of U.S. trade restrictions could lead to restrictions on the business, unless measures were taken to limit the transfer of knowledge and capabilities to China.

In the past, Nexperia relied on its European factories and contract manufacturers in Taiwan to make chips for China. In 2020, Zhang set up a wafer factory in Shanghai. The business, called Wingskysemi, started production in 2023 and has become one of Nexperia’s key suppliers….

Excerpt from Sam Schechner et al, , How U.S. Pressured Netherlands to Oust CEO of Chinese-Owned Chip Maker, WSJ, Oct. 14, 2025