According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, on November 11, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao had a video meeting with German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck at his request, exchanging views on Sino-German and Sino-EU economic and trade issues.
Wang Wentao emphasized that the root cause of the issue regarding NXP Semiconductor is the improper intervention by the Dutch government in the internal affairs of companies, and the responsibility for the global semiconductor supply chain turbulence and chaos lies with the Dutch side. The Chinese side has made the maximum effort with a responsible attitude, granting exemptions for exports that meet the conditions, which has eased the pressure on the global supply chain in the short term. However, to ensure the long-term stability of the global semiconductor supply chain, the Dutch side needs to demonstrate a constructive attitude and take concrete actions. The Chinese side hopes that the German side will play an active role, urging the Dutch government to take concrete actions as soon as possible, correct its wrong practices, revoke the relevant measures, and promote the early resolution of the issue.
Habeck stated that the German government highly values the development of Sino-German economic and trade relations and is impressed by China's economic development achievements and vitality. Sino-German economic and trade cooperation benefits both sides. The German side is willing to strengthen dialogue and exchanges with China, further deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and promote balanced and sustainable bilateral trade. The German side highly pays attention to the NXP Semiconductor issue and is willing to continue to strengthen communication with the Dutch side.
Shi Shiwei, a visiting researcher at the Institute of Modern China at Free University of Berlin and director of the Sino-German Economic and Trade Research Center at the Institute of Regional and Country Studies, School of International Trade and Economics, when interviewed by First Financial News, said that overall, the German side is willing to cooperate with China. Previously, according to media reports, not only in the automotive industry, but also in the machinery manufacturing sector, many machines in Germany require basic chips, and related enterprises have expressed to the state government "you need to find ways to solve it."
German Companies' Concerns
It is worth noting that this is the first time that China has held talks with a third country on the NXP Semiconductor issue. Previously, China had held talks and communications with the EU and the Netherlands respectively.
According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, on October 21, Minister Wang Wentao had a video meeting with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Valdis Dombrovskis at his request.
Wang Wentao stated that regarding the NXP Semiconductor issue, China firmly opposes the generalization of the concept of "national security," and hopes that the EU side will play an important constructive role, urging the Dutch side to uphold the spirit of contract and market principles, and propose a proper solution as soon as possible from the perspective of maintaining the security and stability of the global supply chain.
Dombrovskis stated that regarding the NXP Semiconductor issue, the EU side is willing to actively assist the Chinese and Dutch sides in communication when necessary, and find a solution as soon as possible to jointly maintain the stability of the global supply chain.
On the same day, Wang Wentao had a phone call with Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, exchanging views on issues such as NXP Semiconductor.
Wang Wentao stated that the Chinese side highly values Sino-Dutch economic and trade cooperation. The measures taken by the Dutch side regarding NXP Semiconductor have seriously affected the stability of the global supply chain. The Chinese side urges the Dutch side to take into account the overall situation of maintaining the security and stability of the global supply chain, adhere to the spirit of contract and the principles of marketization and rule of law, and quickly resolve the issue properly, protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese investors, and create a fair, transparent, and predictable business environment.
Van Nieuwenhuizen stated that the Dutch side highly values Sino-Dutch economic and trade relations and is willing to closely communicate with China to find a constructive solution to the NXP Semiconductor issue.
Regarding why the Sino-German conversation included the NXP Semiconductor issue, Shi Shiwei told First Financial News that previously, there were media reports that in Baden-Württemberg, where many German automotive and mechanical manufacturing companies are concentrated, six companies had applied for "short-time work allowance" to the local labor office. These companies temporarily reduced working hours and avoided layoffs, which was related to the shortage of semiconductor chips.
He explained to the reporter that "short-time work allowance" actually refers to temporary work, allowing some workers to go home. After that, these companies sought help from the government of Baden-Württemberg, stating that they could not carry out production due to the chip shortage. This phenomenon may be related to Habeck's recent conversation with China and his expressed willingness to continue communicating with the Dutch side.
Last month, Horst Ott, head of the Bavaria region of the German Metalworkers' Union (IG Metall), stated that due to the shortage of semiconductor chips, several suppliers in Germany might have to reduce working hours.
At that time, Bosch tried to avoid shutdowns by seeking alternative suppliers, optimizing inventory, and developing technical alternatives. The company stated in a statement: "However, unless export control restrictions are relaxed, it cannot be ruled out that some Bosch factories may have to make temporary production adjustments."
Companies such as Volkswagen Group and ZF Friedrichshafen AG are looking for alternative suppliers and increasing semiconductor inventory. Subsequently, although some progress has been made in seeking alternative solutions with companies such as Infineon Technologies in Germany, the risk of shutdown still exists because the lack of one component can be enough to prevent new cars from being produced.
Shi Shiwei told First Financial News that indeed, there are discussions in the German media about dialogue and cooperation, but overall, for example, in terms of photovoltaics and wind energy, Germany must cooperate with China. If it were to develop independently, the cost would already be too high. "The world is divided in this way; China's scale production technology in the aforementioned clean energy aspects is the best," he said.
He added to the reporter that although there are different voices in the German media, in his observation, the practical cooperation between China and Germany is actually very good.
Latest Developments
Since November, the Ministry of Commerce has issued four statements on the NXP Semiconductor issue on the 1st, 4th, 8th, and 9th.
On the 4th, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated in a statement that the Dutch government issued an administrative order on September 30, improperly intervening in the internal affairs of NXP Semiconductor, and after that, the Dutch court made an erroneous ruling to deprive Chinese companies of their equity, seriously infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. Since then, the Dutch government has not shown a constructive attitude or action, and has escalated the global supply chain crisis despite repeated reasonable demands from China during consultations. On October 26, NXP (Netherlands) announced the suspension of wafer supplies to NXP (China), causing the latter to be unable to produce normally, resulting in turbulence and chaos in the global semiconductor supply chain. The Dutch side should bear full responsibility for this.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that the Chinese side, with a responsible attitude towards the stability and security of the global semiconductor supply chain, announced on November 1 that it would grant exemptions for exports that meet the conditions and strive to promote the resumption of supplies from NXP (China). However, the Dutch side continues to act unilaterally and has not taken any actual steps to solve the problem, which will inevitably deepen the negative impact on the global semiconductor supply chain. This is something that the Chinese side and the global industry do not want to see.
Subsequently, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, published a statement on her personal social media account regarding the NXP Semiconductor issue.
On the 8th, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that the Chinese side noted the statement released by Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Cora van Nieuwenhuizen on November 6, but so far, no actual actions have been seen from the Dutch side in terms of stopping the infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and restoring the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that the Chinese side hopes that the Dutch side's statements should not remain just words, but should quickly put forward substantive constructive plans and take concrete actions, quickly and effectively restore the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain from the source, stop using administrative means to intervene and interfere in corporate internal affairs, and promote the early resolution of the NXP Semiconductor issue. The Chinese side agrees to the request of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs to send personnel to China for negotiations.
Subsequently, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Valdis Dombrovskis published a statement on his personal social media account regarding the NXP Semiconductor issue.
On the 9th, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that the source and responsibility for the current global semiconductor supply chain confusion lie with the Dutch side. The Chinese side noted that the EU has stated that it will work with the Dutch side, hoping that the EU will further increase its efforts to urge the Dutch side to quickly revoke the relevant measures and ensure the normal supply of NXP Semiconductor-related products.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that I would like to emphasize that the Chinese side welcomes the continued influence of the EU and urges the Dutch side to quickly correct its wrong practices.
Zhao Yongsheng, director of the France Economic Research Center at the University of International Trade and Economics and doctoral supervisor at Paris-Sorbonne University, told First Financial News that the responsibility for the current turbulence and chaos in the semiconductor supply chain lies with the Dutch side. From a post-event perspective, the previous actions did not coordinate with the EU and major EU countries such as France and Germany, leading to shock among European politics and industry after the incident occurred.
Zhao Yongsheng told the reporter that considering the change in the Dutch government, the new changes in the global geopolitical landscape, for example, the US has announced the suspension of the implementation of the export control penetration rule for one year, and under the mediation of the EU and other parties, it is likely that new developments will emerge regarding this incident.
(This article is from First Financial News)
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7571816675264332340/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author and readers are welcome to express their opinions by clicking on the 【top/down】 buttons below.