The incident of the Netherlands seizing Advanced Semiconductor Components (安世半导体) has seen further developments, with the situation increasingly moving beyond the Netherlands' control. China and the Netherlands have engaged in several rounds of confrontation: In late September, the Dutch government, citing "security," implemented a forced administrative takeover of the company's semiconductor subsidiary, Ansjin Semiconductor, frozen its global assets, and initiated procedures to remove the Chinese management team.
On October 4th, China issued an export control notice, prohibiting Ansjin Semiconductor's Chinese company and its subcontractors from exporting specific finished components and sub-components produced in China, directly cutting off 70% of the supply of packaging and testing capacity for the Dutch headquarters.
On October 7th, the Dutch court ruled to strip the Chinese management of its authority, appointing foreign independent directors, accelerating the completion of equity custody, which triggered strong protests from the Chinese side.
Then, before the Brussels Summit of EU leaders on October 23rd, Dutch Prime Minister Scholz tried to justify his government's actions, claiming that the issue with Ansjin Semiconductor was "poor management by its CEO" and that the Netherlands controlling this Chinese enterprise was not "targeting China."
On October 23rd, Ansjin China released a statement, clearly stating that the decisions made by the Dutch headquarters were invalid in China, announcing Ansjin China's independent operations, ensuring the stability of the domestic supply chain; shortly after, on the same day, Ansjin Semiconductor's Dutch headquarters sent letters to global customers, claiming they could not guarantee the compliance and quality standards of products produced at Ansjin China's Dongguan factory, even advising customers not to purchase products from Ansjin China's factories.
Also on the 23rd, Ansjin Semiconductor (China) Company sent a letter to its clients, explicitly stating that the motives of the Dutch management were impure, unjustly questioning the compliance and quality standards of the Chinese factory, and stating that it would take legal action to protect its rights; it had always been the Chinese factory providing capacity, and previously there were no objections, but now suddenly raising doubts?
The Dutch headquarters obviously became extremely angry. (Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Scholz) On October 25th, the Sino-Dutch negotiations reached a deadlock, with the Netherlands refusing to restore the Chinese management's governance rights. European automakers began warning that chip shortages could lead to large-scale production halts. During this period of negotiation, the climax occurred on October 23rd.
According to Reuters, Ansjin Semiconductor (China) Co., Ltd. has resumed chip supplies to domestic distributors in China, although the company requires transactions to be conducted in RMB only, to reduce reliance on the Dutch parent company. Ansjin Semiconductor's sales are approximately 50% in China.
According to industry insiders, the supply targets are not limited to Chinese enterprises, but also cover overseas companies, but with conditions: 1. Re-signing supply contracts with Ansjin China Company, bypassing Ansjin Netherlands Company; 2. Pricing in RMB; 3. Because priority is given to domestic customers, the shipment volume and speed for overseas customers will be reduced; 4. Domestic auto companies have already received notices, preparing to welcome domestically developed intellectual property chips as alternatives. (Ansjin Europe's letter to customers, which questioned the compliance and quality standards of Ansjin China's company)
It is worth noting that many media and self-media outlets analyzing this event claimed that Ansjin Europe Company holds most of the design and wafer manufacturing shares, while Ansjin China Company mainly handles the packaging process, but this is not the case.
Ansjin Europe Company only has two 6-inch wafer production lines. After being acquired by Wintec Technology, Ansjin China Company further invested in building a 12-inch wafer plant, such as the Wintec Lingang Plant (Ding Tai Jiang Xin), and almost all of Ansjin's new capacity is contributed by Chinese wafer plants. The processing technology for 12-inch and 6-inch wafers is very different, and it can be definitely stated that the design of the domestic 12-inch wafer plants is under the control of the Chinese team.
U.S. automotive manufacturers are also affected by the Ansjin Semiconductor incident. Ansjin China has its own production line and local R&D team, producing over 5 billion diodes and transistors annually, contributing nearly 60% of the group's global capacity. Such a massive capacity being out of the headquarters' control naturally makes the Dutch side anxious.
Therefore, the Dutch headquarters is issuing warnings that they cannot guarantee quality, while simultaneously seeking new packaging and testing partners in Southeast Asia, attempting to transfer some key processes, reducing dependence on the Chinese supply chain. However, if suitable substitutes could be easily found, the Dutch headquarters would have already taken action.
Even if substitutes are found, wafer fabrication is not something that can be completed in a few months, and the customers of Ansjin are already facing production halts. Moreover, existing packaging and testing companies in Southeast Asia are essentially still Chinese-owned enterprises.
The 12-inch automotive-grade power semiconductor plant of Ding Tai Jiang Xin was already completed in 2022 and has been in operation. The biggest and only card that Ansjin Europe Headquarters has is the qualification of being a secondary supplier of automotive-grade products. It takes about two years to complete the entire process from trial samples to mass production for automotive-grade products, which is why Ansjin Europe Headquarters is trying to use this qualification to suppress the Chinese company.
However, if Ansjin China Company becomes independent, the product production process remains the same, just with a different brand name, and the time required to pass certification will be significantly shortened. For Ansjin Europe Headquarters, if it wants to independently develop and manufacture automotive-grade products, find new wafer manufacturers and packaging and testing suppliers, and pass certification, it will be very difficult, equivalent to starting from scratch.
Therefore, in this game, China has already secured victory. If the Dutch side does not make concessions, Ansjin China will operate independently, and it will quickly complete the replacement of Ansjin Europe's products. Moreover, please don't forget that Wintec Technology owns 100% of Ansjin's global equity, and the Dutch side's attempt to seize Ansjin Europe's equity is not something that will go unnoticed. In the future, our government will work with Wintec Technology to claim compensation from the Dutch side, and they will certainly pay the price they deserve. Now this hot potato is in the hands of the Netherlands.
Now, not only European automobile manufacturers like Volkswagen and BMW face production halts, but also some American and Japanese automobile companies face chip shortages and potential production halts, possibly initiating claims against the Netherlands.
News from the German newspaper Handelsblatt has further fueled the situation: According to a report by the supply chain risk analysis company Prewave, "All aerospace and defense companies in Europe use chips from Ansjin Semiconductor in China"; in the automotive industry, 49% of European companies procure chips from Ansjin Semiconductor in China; in the machinery manufacturing industry, this proportion reaches 95%, and in the medical technology sector, it is 86%. These companies all face the risk of supply cuts and production halts. Let's see how the Netherlands handles it.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7566075656107213375/
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