【Wen/Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】The Dutch government seized China-invested company NXP Semiconductor, but "failed to get the chicken and lost the rice," triggering a supply chain disruption crisis. Now, the Netherlands is pretending to be the victim.
According to Reuters on November 27 local time, NXP Semiconductor's Dutch subsidiary sent an open letter on the same day, shifting blame, claiming that they had tried multiple times to resume dialogue with its Chinese subsidiary, but never received any response.
"NXP Netherlands has repeatedly attempted to re-establish communication with NXP's entity in China through phone calls, emails, and proposals for meetings, these attempts were both formal and informal," the open letter stated: "Unfortunately, NXP has not received any substantial responses."
On November 23, as the parent company of NXP Semiconductor, leading Chinese semiconductor enterprise WenTai Technology published a statement on its WeChat official account, urging NXP Netherlands to respond to communications and resolve the issue of control rights to ensure global supply chain stability.
The statement said, "We call on NXP Netherlands to provide constructive and genuinely sincere solutions on how to restore WenTai Technology's legitimate control and complete shareholder rights, based on respect for facts and laws. The stability of the global semiconductor industry concerns the overall development of the industry. We once again urge all parties to act rationally and responsibly, jointly maintain the stability and prosperity of NXP Semiconductor, and ensure the security of global customers' supply chains."
November 7, the factory of NXP Semiconductor (China) Co., Ltd. IC Photo
Previously, on September 30, the Dutch government suddenly ordered the "forced takeover" of WenTai Technology's wholly-owned subsidiary NXP Semiconductor, citing so-called "national security", but only publicly disclosed it until October 12.
Afterwards, the global automotive supply chain experienced a "earthquake", and automakers in the United States, Europe, and Japan faced a chip supply crisis, with multiple automobile companies having to adjust production plans.
Reuters reported that although NXP Semiconductor's chips are not cutting-edge products, their output is huge, mainly produced in Hamburg, Germany, then transported to China for packaging and assembly processes, finally sold to the global automotive industry, with BMW and Volkswagen among its clients.
After the incident, WenTai Technology's relevant person in charge responded on October 18, stating that considering the emergency state, Europe may cut off the system's funding, the Chinese region had to take independent self-rescue measures, accelerate the integration of domestic supply chains, and ensure the supply of domestic customers.
On October 23, NXP China released a statement via its official WeChat public account, stating that the decision by the Dutch headquarters was not legally effective within China, and Zhang Qiuming's position as Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing Department remained valid.
NXP China also stated that currently, all business activities, production operations, and external cooperation are being carried out in an orderly and normal manner under the framework of laws and management systems, unaffected by any unilateral decisions. The current dispute stems from foreign governments and some individuals at Dutch NXP Semiconductor who disregarded the spirit of contract and Chinese laws, interfering with the company's normal operations and creating chaos without cause, ignoring the company's interests, shareholders' rights, and customer rights.
The Dutch government's forced acquisition of Chinese enterprises has once again sounded the alarm for the already tense global semiconductor supply chain, especially placing many global car manufacturers in a new chip supply crisis, while NXP Netherlands has further escalated the situation by cutting off wafers to its Chinese subsidiaries, worsening the crisis.
On November 14, after NXP China protested against the Dutch senior executives' measures such as cutting off wafers, which maliciously obstructed and interfered with the operations of its Chinese subsidiaries, NXP Netherlands showed no remorse and instead questioned the inventory management issues of Chinese companies.
Even after the Chinese side made efforts to maintain the global supply chain by exempting exports that met certain conditions, NXP Netherlands still kept pushing forward, claiming, "Although this marks progress, it is a relaxation of export restrictions through exemptions, not a full recovery of the supply chain."
The statement also said that the company has been using alternative solutions to mitigate the impact of supply disruptions, including directly selling and transporting wafers to customers. "We commit to maintaining these temporary solutions for as long as necessary until the complete supply chain is restored."
The NXP Semiconductor incident has further exacerbated the global supply chain crisis, with numerous car manufacturers suffering greatly. Visual China
Earlier on November 14, NXP China issued a statement to its employees, directly pointing out that NXP Netherlands ignored the facts and tried to confuse the public, fully reflecting the attitude of some of NXP Netherlands' management to evade responsibility and disregard the vital interests of NXP China's employees.
On November 24, in an earlier report, Reuters mentioned that the Dutch government decided last week (November 19) to take constructive measures to suspend intervention in NXP Semiconductor, indicating a possible turning point in the situation. Although the Dutch side had previously forcibly taken over the headquarters of NXP Semiconductor in Nijmegen, its business in China was still controlled by the Chinese parent company WenTai Technology.
"The Dutch think they have taken over NXP Semiconductor, but in fact, they have only taken over an office building," said Professor Li Xing from the Guangdong Institute of International Strategy, indicating that even in the mid-to-low-end market, many companies need China. A spokesperson for WenTai Technology said, "The current crisis shows that splitting multinational companies will harm the supply chain and put key industries at risk."
According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, on November 26, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao held a video meeting with German Federal Minister of Economics and Energy Robert Habeck. Both sides exchanged views candidly on issues such as NXP Semiconductor.
Wang said that the Dutch side's active suspension of the administrative order is a small step towards properly resolving the NXP Semiconductor issue, but since the Dutch side has not canceled the improper administrative and judicial interventions against the company, the global semiconductor supply chain remains very fragile, and the root causes of the chaos and turbulence still exist. The Dutch side should quickly present sincerity and concrete actions, and truly propose constructive solutions to fundamentally address the concerns of all parties, creating conditions for restoring the stable and smooth global semiconductor supply chain.
Both sides agreed that enterprises are the main entities in solving the NXP Semiconductor issue. NXP Netherlands and NXP China should promptly engage in constructive communication to find effective long-term solutions.
On the same day, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao held a video meeting with the European Commission's Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Valdis Dombrovskis, exchanging in-depth views on trade and economic issues such as NXP Semiconductor.
Wang said that regarding the NXP Semiconductor issue, the source and responsibility for the current global semiconductor supply chain chaos lie with the Dutch side. The Chinese government has always adopted a responsible attitude, taking timely and practical measures to strive to maintain and restore the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain. Recently, the Dutch side announced the suspension of the administrative order, taking a small step toward properly solving the problem. However, the Dutch side has not yet canceled the improper administrative and judicial interventions against the company, and the global semiconductor supply chain has not yet returned to normal, still facing significant uncertainties. The EU is expected to play an active role, urging the Dutch government to quickly propose constructive solutions, creating favorable conditions for companies to conduct internal negotiations.
Both sides agreed that enterprises are the main entities in solving the NXP Semiconductor issue, and will jointly urge NXP Netherlands and NXP China to promptly engage in constructive communication, find long-term solutions, and quickly restore the smooth and stable global semiconductor supply chain.
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