Understand Nexperia: Who is in charge of whom?

chiny24.com 1 month ago

In fresh weeks, the planet of advanced technology has been shaken by an unprecedented saga, where Nexperia, a key maker of chips for the automotive industry, was the center.

What seemed at first glance to be an incidental in the U.S.-Chinese trade war proved to be a complex power game in which the Dutch government, European managers and Chinese owner struggled to control strategical technology. And all this against the background of Xi Jinping's encounter with Donald Trump, which became a fresh hand in the global supply chain.

Understand Nexperia: Who is in charge of whom?

Western media frequently represent Nexperia as a ‘Dutch company’, which is only part of the fact and leads to misunderstandings. In fact, Nexperia, although based in the Netherlands, is 100% owned by Chinese technological giant Wingtech Technology. Wingtech invested over 33 billion yuan (about $4.5 billion) to become the sole owner of Nexperia, which was the biggest acquisition in the past of the Chinese semiconductor industry. This is simply a key fact that changes the position of the full history: it was not the Dutch company that was attacked, but the Chinese owner lost control of his European property.

Rebellion at the heart of the company: European managers versus Chinese owner

The conflict began to grow as European managers of Nexperia, including financial manager Stefan Tilger and legal manager Ruben Lichtenberg, began to prosecute greater independency from the Chinese parent company. Fearing U.S. sanctions and wanting to position Nexperia as a European company, they offered to sale any of their shares to European investors, and even to marketplace independently.

However, the Dutch government's demands became a real hot spot. In exchange for "protection" against American restrictions, the Netherlands demanded the creation of a supervisory board with a veto law in nearly 20 key areas in Nexperia. These included technology transfer outside the European Union, investments over $1 million, and even hiring R & D personnel in China. For Wingtech, that was unacceptable – that would mean de facto giving control of your own company.

Dutch takeover and Chinese retaliation: Escalation of Conflict

When the CEO of Nexperii under Wingtech, Zhang Xuezheng, attempted to release rebellious managers in September 2025, the Dutch government entered the action. On 30 September, citing the request to defend national security, the Dutch Ministry of Economy issued an order that frozen any changes in the company, including the dismissal of key personnel. Thus European managers were protected and the Chinese owner was stripped of power in his own company.

China's reaction was immediate and decisive. In retaliation for the actions of the Netherlands, Beijing blocked the export of products from Nexperia's largest assembly plant, located in Dongguan, Guangdong Province. This movement has threatened global supply chains, especially in the automotive industry, which is heavy dependent on Nexperia chips. This was not, as any media wrote, a revolt of the Chinese branch against the Dutch headquarters, but a retaliation of the Chinese state in defence of the Chinese owner's interests.

Meeting at Xi-Trump Summit: fresh Hand

The predicament unexpectedly solved the gathering of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea on 30 October 2025. As part of a broader trade agreement, the United States agreed to an yearly suspension of the controversial "50% rule" which would extend sanctions to companies of at least 50% belonging to blacklist entities. It was this regulation that was the pretext for Dutch intervention.

In consequence to US concessions, China agreed to resume exports from Nexperia's parent company's plant. According to the White House, the agreement aims to “allow the flow of key older generation chips to the remainder of the world”. Thus, in just 1 day, the geopolitical storm around Nexperia was (at least for now) averted. And the Dutch government remained with its decisions like Himilsbach with English.

However, this is simply a much more serious consequence of the overzealousness of the Dutch: Europe has become the subject of a very serious analysis of the Chinese side. All companies that play roles in any manufacture close to Nexperia are already becoming mechanisms to which the magical golden key has a Chinese owner. And without the key, the mechanics won't work. That's it.

I have been writing about this for over 15 years: in a game with China you gotta learn China first. Just a small bit. Of course, there is no time for that for politicians and decision-makers operating in 4-year periods, in which 50% of their time and energy takes up the fight for another 4 years...

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