【By Observer Net, Wang Yi】Amid the Sino-US rivalry, the Dutch government recently suddenly ordered China's leading semiconductor company, Anpec Semiconductor Holding Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Wanxiang Technology, to refrain from any adjustments involving assets, intellectual property, business, and personnel from September 30, within one year. Subsequently, a Dutch corporate court ruled that an foreign individual would be granted decisive voting rights over Anpec Semiconductor.

Given that the Dutch government took action the day after the United States issued its export control "penetration rule", foreign media such as Bloomberg and the Financial Times speculated that the Netherlands' move was guided by the U.S. However, this speculation was quickly denied by a spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, who stated that the U.S. did not participate in the Dutch decision regarding Anpec Semiconductor, and the timing of the action was "purely coincidental."

However, court documents made public by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal on the 14th revealed that as early as June this year, U.S. officials had already conveyed their position to the Netherlands — if Anpec Semiconductor wished to obtain exemption from the U.S. new "Entity List," its Chinese national CEO "must be replaced."

An employee walks through the clean room of the company. Visual China

According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on the 14th, court documents show that in June this year, U.S. officials informed Dutch officials that they would expand the "Entity List" scope, extending sanctions to subsidiaries holding more than 50% of entities. Wanxiang Technology fully controlled Anpec Semiconductor through a series of capital operations between 2018 and 2020, and was listed on the U.S. "Entity List" last December. The U.S. warned the Dutch government that if Anpec Semiconductor wished to apply for exemption from the list, it must replace its leadership.

On June 5, after talks with the U.S., the Netherlands conveyed to Anpec Semiconductor that if the company applied for exemption, the U.S. would "specifically consider relief measures".

In further discussions on June 12, the U.S. added, "We can understand that the time needed for equity divestiture... but the company's CEO is still a Chinese national, which is an issue. It is almost certain that if the exemption is to be obtained, the CEO must be replaced."

On September 30, the Dutch government began taking action based on "serious governance deficiencies," using the "Commodity Supply Act" for the first time to intervene in the management of Anpec Semiconductor, suspending Zhang Xuezhen, the actual controller of Wanxiang Technology, from his non-executive and executive director positions at Anpec Semiconductor. It also claimed that "the decision aims to prevent a risk that, in an emergency, products (finished and semi-finished) produced by Anpec Semiconductor may not be supplied, including chips used in the European automotive industry and consumer electronics sectors."

Before this court document was disclosed, media had already noticed the high level of coordination between the U.S. and the Netherlands. The Financial Times found that the Dutch government's actions "followed closely behind the U.S." Bloomberg also pointed out that the Trump administration had just expanded the scope of sanctions before the Netherlands, highlighting the increasingly stringent scrutiny faced by Chinese enterprises in sensitive industries.

The Wall Street Journal reported that they obtained a meeting recording showing that a senior executive of Wanxiang Technology had directly stated during a call with investors on the 12th that the Dutch government's instructions were an excuse for the new U.S. regulations, actually aiming to seize control. The executive told investors at the time, "The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs is clearly a docile sheep following the U.S. government."

Despite the concrete evidence from the court documents, On the 14th, Dutch State Secretary for Foreign Trade, Okke de Vries, still insisted to the European edition of Politico that the Netherlands made "autonomous decisions" in the decision to take over Anpec Semiconductor.

Wanxiang Technology emphasized to the media that the Dutch government's instruction was justified under the so-called "ensuring supply chain security," but the company believes that the scope and severity of the instruction far exceed routine risk management, implementing a serious and unreasonable external takeover against a normal operating enterprise.

On the evening of the 12th, Wanxiang Technology issued a statement strongly pointing out that the Dutch government imposed a global operational freeze on Anpec Semiconductor under the pretext of "national security," which is excessive intervention based on geopolitical bias. Wanxiang Technology expressed strong protest against this discriminatory treatment targeting Chinese enterprises.

Public data shows that Anpec Semiconductor is headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and is the core semiconductor business base of Wanxiang Technology, focusing on discrete devices and logic devices. Its predecessor was a department of NXP Semiconductors, and it operated independently since 2017. In 2019, it was fully acquired by Wanxiang Technology, and now is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wanxiang Technology. In 2024, Anpec Semiconductor's revenue reached about 14.7 billion yuan, accounting for approximately one-sixth of Wanxiang Technology's total revenue that year.

Alexandre Ferreira Gomes, a researcher at the Clingendael Institute, a Dutch institute for international relations, also warned Bloomberg that the Chinese side may take retaliatory measures.

"There are reasons to expect that China's retaliation target will be a broader European semiconductor industry, rather than only Dutch companies operating in China," he said.

After the incident was exposed, the Chinese side strongly condemned the Dutch government's actions. The China Semiconductor Industry Association issued a statement on the 14th, stating that it "firmly supports" Wanxiang Technology's legal defense and opposes the use of the "national security" concept to impose selective discrimination against Chinese enterprises overseas.

The China-EU Chamber also condemned the Dutch government's actions as "modern economic piracy driven by geopolitical calculations" and urged the Dutch government to "immediately revoke the wrong decision and restore a rational and cooperative environment."

Regarding the Dutch government's restrictive measures against Chinese enterprises, on October 13, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian responded, "Your question suggests you should consult the relevant Chinese authorities."

He also emphasized that China has always opposed the generalization of the concept of national security and the implementation of discriminatory practices against enterprises of specific countries. Relevant countries should abide by market principles and not politicize trade and economic issues. China's determination to safeguard its legitimate and proper rights and interests is unwavering.

This article is exclusive to Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7561101562086244864/

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