Amphenol was once a benchmark case of Chinese enterprises going global, but now faces the dilemma of core assets being stripped away.
On November 5th, the Netherlands Amphenol headquarters issued a statement, claiming that due to the Chinese factory's refusal to pay the invoice, Amphenol headquarters announced on October 29th to suspend the supply of wafers to the China region. At the same time, the supply from other production bases in Asia did not stop. The statement emphasized that Amphenol Semiconductor values its operations and development in China and is confident in quickly easing the situation.
Amphenol Semiconductor is a chip manufacturer fully controlled by China's Wintech Technology. One out of every five vehicles globally uses its components. Its headquarters is in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, with wafer factories in Germany and the UK. The assembly and test bases are in China, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Among them, the Dongguan assembly plant is Amphenol's largest production base, responsible for 70% of product testing tasks.
Previously, Amphenol Semiconductor's manufacturing was "vertically integrated". It had full-chain capacity of "chip design - wafer manufacturing - packaging and testing" — usually, European manufacturers produce wafers and then transport them to Asia for packaging.
On October 26, 2025, the Dutch headquarters unilaterally cut off the supply of wafers to the China region. The reason was that the management of Dongguan violated the payment conditions.
However, this move did not interrupt the factory's production. The supply of Amphenol China has partially recovered, but has not been fully restored. According to electronic distributor Wurth, there is no stock in overseas supply channels, and order delivery is "uncertain".
The company most affected by this incident is Wintech Technology. Amphenol Semiconductor is its core semiconductor business, contributing 15-20% of revenue. It has temporarily lost control. At the same time, the Amphenol dispute has led to shareholders of Wintech Technology selling shares: the second-largest shareholder, Wuxi Guolian Integrated Circuit Investment Center, plans to sell up to 3% of the company's shares.
Secondly, Amphenol holds 40% of the global automotive separator market share, and its chip market share exceeds 30%, which is difficult to replace in the short term. The incident has put major companies relying on Amphenol products at risk of production shutdowns and profit losses. For example, car giants like Volkswagen and Honda have shut down some model production lines. Parts suppliers such as Bosch and ZF have reduced working hours.
On November 4th, China's Ministry of Commerce attributed all the losses caused to Chinese enterprises and the chaos in the supply chain to the improper intervention of the Dutch government. The Dutch side should bear full responsibility.
At the same time, many global automobile manufacturers and their associations have pressured the Dutch government through public statements, financial warnings, and lobbying actions to restore supplies as soon as possible. For example, the Automotive Innovation Alliance (representing Ford, Honda, etc.) urged to ease the situation to alleviate the risks to U.S. output.
In this context, Amphenol's latest statement on November 5th revealed that Amphenol China has stopped operating within the company framework and ignored the orders from the Dutch Amphenol headquarters. Previously, Amphenol China had asked employees to refuse to follow the headquarters' orders.
Amphenol headquarters stated that because it could not monitor the production status of Amphenol China's factories, it could not guarantee the quality, intellectual property, technology, authenticity, and delivery time of products produced since October 13th.
Amphenol headquarters also made many accusations against the Chinese factory, claiming that in addition to refusing to pay related invoices, the Chinese factory also illegally occupied the company seal of the subsidiary; sent unauthorized false information to customers, employees, and suppliers; and set up new bank accounts without authorization, directing customers to transfer money into them.
This statement is a continuation of the Dutch Amphenol's usual smear campaign. On one hand, it wants to draw a clear line with Chinese capital, but on the other hand, it cannot completely break the relationship. It is simply trying to shift the blame to the Chinese factory. It is a defense document that uses "compliance" and "transparency" as an exterior, and its core is to "get rid of Chinese control."
In the statement, it portrays the headquarters as "law-abiding, transparent, neutral — while the problem comes from the opacity and intervention of China." It aims to create international public opinion to gain the "moral high ground," making European public opinion believe that the Dutch government's takeover is justified. Essentially, it is preparing public opinion for the Dutch government to legally take over Chinese enterprise assets.
However, China is not a clay figure. Even if setting up a new furnace is an inevitable path, it will not let its own enterprise suffer losses and injustice. China's Ministry of Commerce's latest statement has already indicated that if the Netherlands continues to act stubbornly and does not take concrete actions, China will take all means to firmly protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises.
At the same time, Amphenol headquarters is isolating risks. The statement mentions that the Chinese factory refused to follow the headquarters' orders and set up bank accounts without permission, using strong language. It tries to portray itself as a victim. This is a legal accusation, cutting the part controlled by the Chinese side from the brand and commercial level, laying the foundation for asset stripping and international arbitration. However, foreign law has no right to interfere in Chinese enterprises, and no matter how they deny, it is invalid.
In addition, the Dutch headquarters is trying to seize the market and prevent customer panic and order loss. The statement implies that the products produced by the Chinese factory may have quality and intellectual property authorization issues. At the same time, it emphasizes that the wafers in places like the Philippines are normally supplied. The purpose is to say, "quality problems only exist in China, and the headquarters-controlled part is safe."
In fact, the quality of a product should be tested by the customer. Previously, Amphenol China has stated that all products meet the standards. However, to calm the customers, after replacing the new wafers, Amphenol China needs to provide test data.
A deeper reason is that the Amphenol headquarters defines itself as a legitimate successor in the statement, rather than a thief. The statement ends by saying that its actions comply with the Dutch government's orders, making grand speeches, claiming that this move is to protect European interests. This is obviously a show of loyalty to the Dutch government and an effort to gain European support.
However, Europe's interests are suffering due to the Dutch's self-interest. In addition to direct losses from production interruptions, this incident will also affect the investment environment in the European market. The Amphenol case has evolved from a commercial dispute into a barometer for the global investment community to judge the credibility of the European system.
Moreover, the issue now is, after excluding the Chinese supply chain and market, how long can the Amphenol headquarters maintain? Originally, it was the injection of 34 billion RMB by Wintech Technology and the Chinese market (accounting for about 50% of global revenue) that enabled Amphenol Semiconductor to turn from the brink of bankruptcy to profitability.
The Amphenol headquarters also understands this point, and in the statement, it welcomed the "Chinese commitment to promote the resumption of Amphenol China's exports" action and emphasized that the Dongguan factory is a key part of the company's long-term strategy, hoping for a resolution of the situation.
To rely economically while not considering the reasonable demands of China is seriously unreasonable. The Chinese side has clearly stated that the prerequisite for restoring supply chain stability is for the Dutch government to stop interfering with Chinese enterprises.
The Amphenol Semiconductor incident reminds Chinese enterprises to remain sober: in the global industrial layout, they cannot naively think that the West will treat Chinese enterprises fairly as they do their own. Building an independent and controllable Chinese ecosystem is an important safeguard for enterprises and the country to cope with external uncertainties.
As of the time of writing, Amphenol China has not responded to these messages yet.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569550115644473862/
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