BEIJING: Chinese officials have agreed to hold talks with their Dutch counterparts regarding the Nexperia crisis, which has thrown the global automotive chip supply chain into uncertainty, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday (Nov 8).
In response to remarks made by Netherlands’ Economy Minister Vincent Karremans on Friday – indicating that Nexperia chips made in China could resume shipments in the coming days – Beijing expressed hope that the Dutch side would take concrete actions and agreed to the Netherlands’ request to send representatives to China for discussions.
No specific date for the meeting was mentioned.
“China hopes that the Netherlands’ statements will not remain mere rhetoric but will promptly lead to constructive solutions and tangible actions to swiftly and effectively restore stability to the global semiconductor supply chain at its source,” the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement.
Karremans said on Friday that China could resume chip supplies to Nexperia’s customers in Europe and beyond “over the coming days”. The Dutch government was prepared to relinquish control of the company “as soon as next week” if Nexperia China resumed shipments, according to a Bloomberg News report from the same day.
The Chinese commerce ministry acknowledged Karremans’ remarks but said it had yet to see “concrete action from the Netherlands to cease infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies”, reiterating a statement from Thursday that accused the Dutch government of failing to take constructive measures.
“The root cause and responsibility for the current chaos in the global semiconductor supply chain lie with the Netherlands,” it said.
The Chinese confirmation of talks marks the latest development in a dispute that erupted in late September, when Dutch authorities took control of Nexperia’s headquarters in the Netherlands due to concerns that its Chinese owner planned to relocate production from one of Europe’s leading chipmaking facilities to China.
The Dutch seizure happened a day after the US updated its export restrictions, which affected Nexperia, whose parent company Wingtech Technology was added to Washington’s trade blacklist in December.
In response, Beijing restricted exports from Nexperia’s assembly plant in southern China’s Dongguan, which accounts for 70 per cent of the company’s output.
The European Commission said earlier this week that a “worst-case scenario” had been averted after the Chinese commerce ministry engaged with European companies to initiate steps for resuming chip exports. - South China Morning Post
