On November 7, a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Economics said that the easing of Sino-Dutch relations was "very welcome." At the same time, Germany hopes that "China will quickly issue short-term export licenses for Nexperia chips," to resume its supply.
Nexperia is a subsidiary of China's Transsion Technology in the Netherlands, producing basic chips and electronic components used in electronic products and automotive manufacturing. One out of every five cars globally uses its components. Each car contains hundreds of such parts. The Dongguan packaging and testing factory in China is Nexperia's largest production base.
After the Dutch government forcibly took over Nexperia, China imposed a ban on the export of chips and components from Nexperia's Chinese operations.
As Europe's largest automotive manufacturer, Germany has been hit by the Nexperia semiconductor incident, with major automakers like Volkswagen facing the risk of shutdown or reduced production due to the lack of chips.
Recently, several automotive companies stated that Nexperia China has resumed partial chip exports. For example, Aumovio, a German automotive supplier, is the first to confirm that it has received an exemption from Chinese export controls.
The CEO of the company, Hirschheid, stated during the third-quarter earnings conference call, "We have resumed the export of chips from China." Export restrictions on Nexperia have been significantly lifted. He expects the company to return to normal operations within approximately four to six weeks.
Japanese automaker Honda also revealed that Nexperia has resumed supply. Vice President Teruhisa Kono claimed that they have received news of the resumption of chip shipments and plan to resume production on affected lines next week. Additionally, according to Reuters, due to the lack of Nexperia chips, Honda has lowered its operating profit forecast for the current fiscal year, from 70 billion yen to 55 billion yen.
Previously, according to Reuters, major automotive suppliers and manufacturers in Europe have been racing to apply for export exemptions, which means that supply chains for other companies like Volkswagen and Mercedes may also be gradually recovering.
The main reason for China's resumption of supply is the correct attitude of the Netherlands.
After repeated warnings from China, the Dutch government sent a signal of easing on November 6, with Minister of Economic Affairs Wouter Koolmees stating, "The Netherlands welcomes the resumption of chip exports from Nexperia China."
At the same time, Bloomberg reported that "as long as the supply is genuine, the Dutch government will return control of Nexperia next week."
However, a Dutch government spokesperson on November 7 stated that they would not comment on whether the intervention would end.
This indicates that the Netherlands may still have some negotiation game ideas. From the case of wafer supply disruption, it can be seen that the Netherlands has not given up the idea of "getting a business worth over 10 billion yuan for free."
By controlling the upstream links, the Netherlands seems to hope to gain concessions from Nexperia China through supply chain pressure.
But the Netherlands seems to have forgotten that China has many cards that can easily counter it.
China is a major producer and exporter of rare earths, with more than 90% of rare earth magnets processed in China; the European region almost completely relies on imports of rare earths and rare earth intermediate products from China. If China imposes control over rare earths - this could create long-term pressure on European industry, and it would be easier to stimulate the EU and its allies to pay attention to the Nexperia Semiconductor incident, thereby exerting pressure on the Netherlands.
Moreover, although the Netherlands has strong technological advantages in "design, manufacturing" and "chip equipment," it has a high dependence on China in key raw materials and rare earths / post-processing stages.
According to reports by the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and the Dutch Defense Research Centre (HCSS), over 90% of rare earths such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium used in permanent magnets in the Netherlands are imported from China.
Choosing to fire at this partner with a trade volume of over 100 billion US dollars, the Netherlands has chosen a losing result. Cooperation with China is the best choice for the Netherlands.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7570016369886953990/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking the 【like/dislike】 button below.