On October 23, 2025, Hamburg, Germany, the Dutch government took over the German factory of the Chinese semiconductor company Nexperia, after industry institutions in the automotive sector warned that this could affect car production. The company's logo appeared inside the chip manufacturer's German factory (Reuters)

In 1987, The New York Times published an open letter addressed to the American people. The author of the letter was a New York real estate developer named Donald Trump, who accused Japan of taking advantage of the United States and warned that the US was being "laughed at" by its trade partners. Nearly 40 years later, now serving his second term as President of the United States, Trump has turned the same complaints toward China, accusing China of exploiting America's generosity and weakening America's strength.

This ideology is now driving America's global strategy and increasingly influencing European behavior. In September 2025, the Dutch government took over the Chinese chipmaker Nexperia, clearly indicating the extent to which European governments are involved in this U.S.-led confrontation. This move was framed as a national security issue, following the announcement by The Hague that the Chinese ownership of Nexperia posed a threat to Dutch strategic interests.

The company at the core of this decision has a complex history. Nexperia was originally the standard products division of NXP Semiconductors. In 2017, the company was sold to a Chinese investor consortium, becoming one of several European tech companies that joined China's expanding industrial portfolio. By the late 2010s, this portfolio had included Supercell, Sumo, Stunlock, and Miniclip in the gaming sector, Kuka in robotics, WorldFirst in currency exchange, and mobile advertising startup MobPartner. For a long time, Europe welcomed Chinese investments and viewed them as a sign of openness, but now, Europe sees these collaborations as a strategic threat.

As pressure within Europe to protect key industries deemed critical to national security increases, the scale of these acquisitions also grows. Governments have started to use emergency powers to block or revoke Chinese ownership of what they now call strategic assets. Nexperia is not the first company to be reclaimed by European countries. In 2022, the UK required Chinese parties to sell their shares in Newport Wafer Fab; in 2023, France took over Omnicom. In the U.S., Chinese company Kunlun Tech was ordered to sell its 60% stake in Grindr in 2019.

Globally, such countermeasures are common. In 2024, after security concerns about Nvidia products, China restricted the export of key minerals for semiconductor manufacturing and tightened regulations on foreign chip sales. In this context, European governments have further tightened controls on the transfer of key assets and intellectual property to China.

The instinct to protect domestic industries is longstanding. Although the West is upset about the theft of its technology, it should be noted that one of America's founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, publicly encouraged what is now called "industrial espionage." In the early days of the American Republic, British-born engineer Samuel Slater memorized Richard Arkwright's water spinning technology and helped establish the first water-powered cotton mill in Rhode Island. Hamilton later praised this imitative behavior in his 1791 Report on Manufactures.

Fast forward to 2025, when the so-called "Big Seven" (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla) joined the trillion-dollar market capitalization club, their rise is attributed to genius and innovation. However, when they face challenges, such as Tesla's competition with BYD, the blame is often shifted to external factors.

So why are European countries intervening in the semiconductor hegemony struggle between China and the U.S., especially when Europe is far behind both China and the U.S. in this competition?

European leaders believe the answer lies in maintaining national sovereignty and reducing dependence on other countries. However, economic consequences are already emerging. Most of Nexperia's production takes place in China, and after losing these capacities, the company will be unable to meet market demand. Since the acquisition, some of its operations have slowed down, and hundreds of employees in the Netherlands, the UK, and Germany face layoffs. Global automakers like Volkswagen and Volvo have warned that production delays may occur due to shortages of automotive chips, which are crucial for vehicle electronics and control systems.

The situation in the Netherlands is not unique. Across Europe, governments have accepted the narrative of decoupling from China, even though their economies remain closely connected to China. The takeover of Nexperia aligns closely with the stance of Europeans who support Trump's "Day of Liberation" rhetoric - Trump packaged economic decoupling from China as a moral redemption, foreshadowing more similar measures within the EU, which was born under the Maastricht Treaty. In this context, the words of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for "reducing risks rather than decoupling" seem feeble.

Beneath all this lies an invisible compromise, which began with the Marshall Plan in 1948 and continues to influence how Europe responds to crises - from the Ukraine war to the current technological competition, all reflecting this compromise. Each event confirms the same pattern: when the U.S. redefines its global order, Europe also makes corresponding adjustments. While the Netherlands' acquisition of Nexperia can be justified as a matter of maintaining national sovereignty, it also reveals the limited nature of European sovereignty. When the U.S. and China compete for technological supremacy, Europe finds itself once again not a participant in the new order, but rather a victim of this game.

Author: Yasin Tarawih, Assistant Professor, College of Business and Economics, Qatar University.

This article represents the author's personal opinions and does not reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569394290569544192/

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