The court documents reveal: The US had already instructed the Netherlands to act

Amid the U.S.-China rivalry, the Dutch government recently suddenly ordered China's leading semiconductor company, Ansem Semiconductor Holding Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of WenTai Technology, to refrain from making any adjustments related to assets, intellectual property, business, and personnel for one year starting September 30. Subsequently, the Dutch court ruled that an foreign individual would have decisive voting power over Ansem Semiconductor.

Given that the Dutch government took action just one day after the U.S. issued its new export control "穿透性规则" (penetrating rules), foreign media such as Bloomberg and the Financial Times speculated that the Dutch move was guided by the U.S. However, this speculation was quickly denied by a spokesperson from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, who stated that the U.S. did not participate in the decision-making process regarding Ansem Semiconductor, and that the timing of the action was "purely coincidental."

However, court documents released by the Amsterdam Court on the 14th revealed that as early as June, U.S. officials had already made their position clear to the Netherlands - if Ansem Semiconductor wanted to obtain an exemption from the U.S.'s new "Entity List," its Chinese national Chief Executive Officer (CEO) "had to be replaced."

According to a report by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on the 14th, the court documents showed that in June, the U.S. informed Dutch officials that they would expand the scope of the "Entity List," extending the sanctions to subsidiaries held by entities with more than 50% ownership. WenTai Technology fully acquired Ansem Semiconductor through a series of capital operations between 2018 and 2020, and was added to the U.S. "Entity List" last December. The U.S. warned the Dutch government that if Ansem Semiconductor wished to apply for an exemption from the list, it must replace its leadership.

On June 5, the Dutch side conveyed to Ansem Semiconductor, following talks with the U.S., that if the company applied for an exemption, the U.S. would "specifically consider relief measures."

In further discussions on June 12, the U.S. added, "It can be understood that the time required for equity divestiture is needed... but the company's CEO is still a Chinese national, which is a problem. 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 under the "Supply of Goods Act" citing "serious governance defects," for the first time intervening in the management of Ansem Semiconductor, suspending Zhang Xuezhen, the actual controller of WenTai Technology, from his non-executive and executive director positions at Ansem Semiconductor. It also claimed that "the decision aims to prevent a risk that in an emergency, the products produced by Ansem Semiconductor (finished and semi-finished products) 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 strict scrutiny facing Chinese enterprises in sensitive industries.

The Wall Street Journal reported that they obtained a meeting recording showing that a WenTai Technology executive had directly told investors in a phone call on the 12th that the Dutch government's directive was an excuse based on the new U.S. regulations, but was actually aimed at seizing control. The executive said to investors at the time, "The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs is clearly a docile sheep following the U.S. government."

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846003992536203/

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