Nexperia’s parent company has blasted the seizure as excessive interference driven by geopolitical bias.
Dutch authorities took control of the Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia following significant pressure from Washington, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing newly released court documents. The Netherlands-based company was seized earlier this month.
The news comes amid escalating trade tensions between the US and China, marked by disputes over tariffs, export controls, and technology transfers.
The production of semiconductors remains a particularly sensitive area due to its critical role in global technology and security, as they have both civilian and military uses.
Officials from the Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry and representatives from a US agency responsible for protecting critical technology reportedly met in June to discuss the Dutch-based chipmaker, which is owned by the Chinese group Wingtech.
During the meeting, US officials reportedly emphasized that the company’s CEO, Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng, must be removed in order to avoid US export controls.
“It is problematic that the CEO of the company is still the same Chinese owner,” the US said, according to the minutes quoted in the documents. “It’s almost certain that the CEO should be replaced to qualify for an exemption on the entity list.”
The Dutch Economic Ministry stated earlier this week that it intervened in Nexperia due to “recent and acute signals of serious governance shortcomings and actions” within the company. It cited alleged risks to “technological expertise and capabilities in the Netherlands and Europe.”
The authorities invoked never-before-used powers under a Dutch law known as the Availability of Goods Act. The decision led to a 10% fall in Wingtech’s shares in Shanghai.
Wingtech condemned the intervention as “an act of excessive interference driven by geopolitical bias, not by fact-based risk assessment,” according to a now-deleted message on WeChat, which was archived and translated by the Chinese political blog Pekingnology.
On Tuesday, Reuters quoted Nexperia as saying it is currently facing export restrictions imposed by both US and Chinese authorities and is negotiating with both sides.
While Washington has not directly added the company to its Entity List, it has been affected due to its full ownership by China’s Wingtech, which was listed by the US Department of Commerce in December 2024.
