Dutch Government Takes Control of China-Owned Chipmaker Nexperia

Mon Oct 13 2025 15:48:58 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a move aimed at safeguarding European semiconductor supply, the Dutch government has intervened with Nexperia, a chipmaker owned by China's Wingtech. This decision raises geopolitical tensions amid ongoing trade disputes.

The Dutch government has taken control of Nexperia, a semiconductor manufacturer owned by China's Wingtech, citing governance issues and the need to ensure the continuity of supply in emergencies. This intervention underscores rising concerns about economic security and international relations between Europe and China, particularly following recent actions by the US government against Wingtech. The Dutch government utilized the Goods Availability Act to make this 'highly exceptional' decision, expressing worries that the governance of Nexperia poses risks to essential technological capabilities in Europe.

The Dutch government has taken control of Nexperia, a Chinese-owned chipmaker based in the Netherlands, in a bid to safeguard the European supply of semiconductors for cars and other electronic goods and protect Europe's economic security.

The Hague said it took the decision due to serious governance shortcomings and to prevent the chips from becoming unavailable in an emergency.

Nexperia's owner Wingtech said on Monday that it would take actions to protect its rights and would seek government support.

The development threatens to raise tensions between the European Union and China, which have increased in recent months over trade and Beijing's relationship with Russia.

In December 2024, the US government placed Wingtech on its so-called entity list, identifying the company as a national security concern.

Under the regulations, US companies are barred from exporting American-made goods to businesses on the list unless they have special approval.

In the UK, Nexperia was forced to sell its silicon chip plant in Newport after MPs and ministers expressed national security concerns. It currently owns a UK facility in Stockport.

The Dutch Economic Ministry said it made the highly exceptional decision to invoke the Goods Availability Act over acute signals of serious governance shortcomings within Nexperia.

These signals posed a threat to the continuity and safeguarding on Dutch and European soil of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities, the ministry stated.

The statement did not detail the reasons for viewing the firm's operations as risky. A spokesperson for the minister of economic affairs noted that further information could not be shared.

The Goods Availability Act allows the Hague to intervene in companies under exceptional circumstances, such as threats to economic security and the assurance of critical goods supply.

The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Vincent Karremans, now has the authority to reverse or block Nexperia’s decisions that may harm the company’s interests or its future business in the Netherlands or Europe.

The company's production can continue normally, as this measure is intended to mitigate risk.

Shanghai-listed shares in Wingtech, Nexperia's parent company, fell by 10% on Monday.

A Nexperia spokesperson affirmed that the company complies with all existing laws and regulations, export controls, and sanctions regimes, with no further comment available.

In a statement in Mandarin, Wingtech confirmed that operations remain uninterrupted and that it is in close communication with suppliers and customers.

Wingtech announced that its chairman, Zhang Xuezheng, had been suspended from Nexperia’s boards by an Amsterdam court order earlier this month and that they are in talks with lawyers about potential legal remedies.