It is an unprecedented case. China will fight back
The government of the semiconductor company Nexperia, a chipmaker based in Nijmegen, invoking the law of availability of goods. This is Cold War-era legislation that had never been used.
The Netherlands took control of the manufacturer owned by Chinese capital, to guarantee the supply of essential chips to the automotive and consumer electronics industry in Europe.
The decision, announced on Sunday, comes amid growing tensions between Western countries and China over access to more advanced technologies and critical raw materials.
Ex-Philips
Nexperia is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of simple semiconductors such as diodes and transistors, but it also develops more advanced technologies, including “wide gap” chips, which are fundamental to electric cars, data processing centers and artificial intelligence. The company supplies essential components to the European automotive and electronics industries.
It was originally part of Philips and then NXP Semiconductors. In 2017 it was sold to a Chinese consortium and, the following year, acquired by Wingtech Technology Co., a Chinese conglomerate with strong state support and also a supplier to Apple and other giant technology companies.
Wingtech had already been included on the US “restricted entities list” in December 2024 for its alleged role “in assisting the Chinese government’s efforts to acquire entities with sensitive semiconductor manufacturing capabilities” – companies included on this list require export licenses for any transaction involving the United States. Nexperia, which is 100% owned by Wingtech, said at the time that it would comply with US rules, although it said its operations were kept at arm’s length from its Chinese parent company.
Chinese CEO removed
Wingtech CEO and Nexperia CEO Zhang Xuezheng was suspended following a court order issued by an Amsterdam court on October 6 after “well-founded reasons to doubt” were found that the company was following correct management policy or actions under Dutch civil law.
Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans stated in a letter to parliament that failures in the company’s management were related to improper transfers of production capacity, financial resources and intellectual property “to a foreign entity owned by the CEO and unrelated to Nexperia”.
The court further ruled that an independent director – non-Chinese and with decisive voting power – would be appointed to replace Zhang and oversee the company. All Nexperia shares, with the exception of one, were transferred to a Dutch lawyer and placed under management in “custody”, in a type of temporary guardianship to ensure that the company does not transfer assets, technology or strategic personnel.
On October 7, the court ordered the appointment of a director and Dutch businessman Guido Dierick now temporarily has the power to block or reverse decisions by the company’s board of directors that he considers harmful, according to Reuters.
Wingtech said in a statement on Sunday that it was consulting lawyers and seeking government support to “protect the company’s legitimate rights and interests.”
Cold War
The Dutch Ministry of Economy invoked the asset availability law for the first time, alleging “a threat to the continuity and safeguard, on Dutch and European soil, of technological knowledge and crucial capabilities”.
This law, the “Good Availability Act” in English, was enacted more than 70 years ago during the Cold War and allows the government to take temporary control of companies considered critical to national security or economy in emergency situations.
According to the Dutch Ministry of Economy, cited by , Nexperia showed “serious management deficiencies”. The government states that the measure aims to prevent “products manufactured by Nexperia from being unavailable in an emergency”.
The Dutch order came after the Trump government’s decision to also sanction subsidiaries of companies included in an “entity list” – and of which Wingtech was part. Last week, China tightened export controls on rare earth metal materials, in what is its first major attempt to exercise jurisdiction over foreign companies.
China will respond
Beijing’s reaction was immediate: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian criticized the decision, accusing the Netherlands of “misusing the concept of national security” and applying “discriminatory measures against Chinese companies”, according to .
Wingtech classified the action as “excessive interference motivated by geopolitical prejudices” and stated that it will use all legal and diplomatic means to contest the decision.
On Sunday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce listed the US action as one of the reasons it imposed broader restrictions on rare earth trade. Nexperia is headquartered in Nijmegen but has subsidiaries around the world and said, in an email from its director of legal and global alliances, that it “complies with all existing laws and regulations, export controls and sanctions regimes”.
