Anxi Semiconductor's incident has once again been pushed to the center of public opinion. On November 27, Anxi Netherlands suddenly issued an open letter, claiming that it had repeatedly tried to communicate with Anxi China through formal or informal channels, but had received no response. The letter urged the Chinese subsidiary to "immediately take measures to restore the supply chain." This posture has created a false impression in the international public opinion arena, as if the responsibility for the chaos in the Anxi supply chain lies with China. On the evening of the 28th, Wen Tai Technology, the only legitimate shareholder of Anxi Semiconductor, released an official statement containing a large number of factual details, directly pointing out that Anxi Netherlands' open letter contained "a large number of misleading false accusations and false information."
It is clear to anyone who can see the situation that the Dutch side is staging a public relations extortion by reversing the cause and effect, trying to rewrite the narrative of public opinion through a single open letter, and portraying itself as a "victim who has repeatedly failed to get through." Just a day before the Dutch side issued its "blame-shifting letter," Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao had clearly stated during a video meeting with EU trade officials that the Dutch side's improper administrative and judicial interventions against enterprises have not been canceled yet, and the global semiconductor supply chain has not yet returned to normal. On November 19, the Dutch side's announcement to "suspend" the administrative order against Anxi Semiconductor was indeed "a small step forward," but it is still far from addressing the core issue. The relevant intervention measures have not been revoked, and the uncertainty facing the supply chain remains significant.
Looking back at the starting point of the incident, the Dutch government's crude rewriting of corporate property rights through administrative means has sown the roots of all subsequent chaos. According to publicly available information, on September 30, the Dutch government suddenly ordered the "forced takeover" of Wen Tai Technology's wholly-owned subsidiary Anxi Semiconductor in the Netherlands, citing so-called "national security" as a reason. This led to a sharp fluctuation in the company's equity structure, corporate governance arrangements, and business expectations, seriously infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. Under the push of the Dutch economic department, the corporate court made a wrong ruling to deprive Wen Tai Technology of control over Anxi Semiconductor in the Netherlands, thereby solidifying the illegal takeover through administrative means, becoming a key obstacle in resolving the problem.
After the Dutch government's forced and illegal intervention triggered a global supply chain warning, Anxi Netherlands did not focus on repairing its relationship with its Chinese subsidiary, but instead implemented extreme measures such as cutting off wafer supplies to the Chinese subsidiary, further spreading the already tense supply chain risks. After China made targeted exemptions for exports that met the conditions to maintain the stability of the global supply chain, Anxi Netherlands did not take the opportunity to ease the tension, but instead claimed that the exemption was "only progress" and proposed an "alternative solution" of directly selling and transporting wafers to customers to bypass the existing supply chain arrangements.
Anxi Semiconductor is located at a critical link in the global automotive and electronics industry chain. Its chips are mainly produced in Hamburg, Germany, then packaged and assembled in China for supply to整车 enterprises such as BMW and Volkswagen. It is a key intermediate product that is widely used. On such a highly integrated and interlinked supply chain, suddenly seizing the control of the enterprise under the pretext of "national security" is essentially not a cautious intervention in routine regulation, but an administrative seizure of the existing property rights order. The Dutch side's so-called "national security" has been continuously generalized, becoming a veil for a series of operations that clearly violate commercial common sense.
Quickly restoring Anxi Semiconductor's production and supply is something that meets the expectations of all parties. Anxi Netherlands' open letter expressed anxiety about "customers across various industries still reporting imminent shutdowns," but it must be pointed out that the current deadlock was caused by the Dutch side. As the saying goes, "the person who tied the knot must untie it," and the Dutch side should show more sincerity in cleaning up the mess in the semiconductor supply chain. "Blame-shifting letters" that distort facts and shirk responsibility will only continue to delay this predicament borne by the global supply chain. The Dutch government should quickly revoke the improper instructions, and through an open, transparent, and predictable process, conduct a comprehensive review and substantive correction of the previous improper administrative actions, return to the spirit of contracts and market logic, and stop exporting the consequences of its own policies to Chinese companies and global customers.
The Dutch side should not just "pause the takeover," but permanently revoke it. So far, we have not seen the Dutch court make corresponding adjustments. Wen Tai Technology's statement on the 28th also confirmed that the Dutch side has not yet returned the control of Anxi to Chinese enterprises, and there is no follow-up on the protection of shareholders' legitimate rights and interests. In this situation, both sides do not have the basis for "constructive dialogue." Now, the eyes of the world are watching whether the Netherlands can quickly face the core issues and take bigger steps in the right direction.
Sources: @Global Times
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7577817936287629876/
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