【By Observer Net, Yuan Jiaqi】
Although the Netherlands has denied it, the international community generally believes that its act of seizing the Chinese company Nexperia Semiconductor is essentially a case of "using the tiger's might" and following the U.S. "instructions." Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius directly stated in a conference call last week, "This is now a situation driven by political factors."
But when the Netherlands caused this big mess that led to a production crisis for global automakers, Europe awkwardly found out that the United States doesn't have the ability to deal with the mess, right?
According to U.S. media The New York Times on May 5th, due to the related dispute, global automobile manufacturers and their suppliers have started to reduce production. Washington's efforts to resolve the dispute have failed, which has made more companies worry that if a solution is not found soon, they may be forced to stop production entirely.
It is worth noting that although European automotive industry's opposition is the strongest, the thousands of chips produced by Nexperia Semiconductor are also widely used in the manufacturing of washing machines, vacuum cleaners, night vision devices, radar, and tanks.
Chris Miller, a professor of history at Tufts University and author of "Chip War," admitted, "I think if this issue isn't resolved within the next few weeks, it's completely reasonable to be concerned about the impact on global manufacturing output."
The Berlin Mercator Institute, known as Europe's largest "China Research Center," senior analyst Antonia Hmaidi said that if Nexperia Semiconductor were to transfer its production capacity and complete production outside China, the entire process would take at least 4 to 6 months, and this capacity could not fully fill the supply gap of the factory in Dongguan, China. In addition, these chips need to go through strict testing and certification before they can be officially used in car production.
Hmaidi then turned the blame back, saying that analysts have repeatedly warned in recent years that even if it increases operating costs, enterprises that move production to China should develop backup plans, strengthen the supply chain, and achieve supply chain diversification to cope with unexpected situations. She claimed, "This should be the latest warning, making everyone see the extent of actions that China is willing to take to protect its own enterprises."
This statement is obviously hypocritical. Since it admits that China's action is "protecting its own enterprises," why does it only criticize China, the victim, while ignoring the Netherlands, the one who started the trouble and occupied the Chinese enterprise? This is such a ridiculous logic!
China has shown the attitude of a responsible major country: On November 1st, the Ministry of Commerce announced that it will consider the actual situation of enterprises and exempt exports that meet the conditions. We welcome enterprises facing practical difficulties to contact us in time.
After announcing the exemption policy over the weekend, on the afternoon of the 4th, the Ministry of Commerce once again emphasized the issue of Nexperia Semiconductor, stating that the current turbulence and chaos in the global semiconductor supply chain stems from the Netherlands government's lack of constructive attitude and actions, and it should bear full responsibility.
Munich, Germany: Volkswagen transport vehicles parked at the marshaling yard, Visual China
China's latest statement immediately attracted high attention from Western media. Various media outlets reported with headlines such as "China criticizes the Netherlands."
Among them, U.S. media Associated Press and Bloomberg published articles stating that China's statement means the "stalemate of Nexperia Semiconductor continues to escalate." The UK's Guardian believes that the normal production of U.S. and European car factories still faces threats. Reuters mentioned on the same day that China's "strong wording" statement further increased concerns among Western automobile manufacturers, who previously thought the situation had shown "positive signals."
On the same day, the European Commission issued a statement that China and the EU have made some progress on the Nexperia Semiconductor issue, with industry signs showing that China has contacted EU companies and restored part of the chip supply, "avoiding the worst scenario and buying time and space to find a lasting solution." The statement mentioned that the commission will report the situation to member states on the 5th and require member states to submit assessment reports by the 7th.
A spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs responded, stating that China and the Netherlands are still in negotiations, "We will continue to maintain contact with China and international partners to seek a constructive solution beneficial to Nexperia Semiconductor and our economy."
Reuters earlier reported that German auto parts suppliers are urgently seeking exemptions from China's export restrictions on Nexperia Semiconductor chips, hoping to resolve this trade deadlock through a political solution.
Global auto parts giant German ZF (AF) stated that it is maintaining communication with relevant departments in China through its Chinese subsidiary. Another source also revealed that Aumovio, a car parts supplier spun off from German Continental Group, has also applied for an exemption and submitted relevant materials to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
The report stated that companies welcomed the signs of easing trade disputes, but industry sources said they still worried that the exemption application process may be complicated and the approval time is unclear.
"China has slightly relaxed the regulations on inventory exports," said Dominik Zillner from Components at Service, a German electronic component distributor. He added that this must be achieved with special permission from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
A spokesperson for the German Ministry of Economics told Reuters on Wednesday that Germany is using all available channels to lobby China to protect the interests of currently cut-off German customers.
The spokesperson stated, "We highly value the situation of affected enterprises and are conducting consultations with relevant enterprises, the Netherlands, and EU partners on this matter through multiple channels."
According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce stated on the 4th that the Dutch government issued an administrative order on September 30th, improperly interfering with internal affairs of Nexperia Semiconductor, and after that, the Dutch court made an erroneous ruling to deprive Chinese enterprises of equity, seriously infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. After that, the Dutch government did not show a constructive attitude and actions despite repeated reasonable demands from China during the consultation and escalated the global supply chain crisis. Nexperia (Netherlands) announced on October 26th that it would stop supplying wafers to Nexperia (China), causing the latter to be unable to produce normally, leading to turbulence and confusion in the global semiconductor supply chain. For this, the Dutch side should bear full responsibility.
China, upholding a responsible attitude toward the stability and security of the global semiconductor supply chain, announced on November 1st that it would exempt exports that meet the conditions, and strive to promote the resumption of supply from Nexperia (China). However, the Dutch side continues to act unilaterally without taking any practical steps to solve the problem, which will inevitably deepen the adverse impact on the global semiconductor supply chain. This is something that China and the global industry do not want to see.
China hopes that the Dutch side will take a responsible attitude, start from the overall situation of Sino-Dutch and Sino-EU economic and trade relations, and the stability and security of the supply chain, and work in the same direction with China to stop interfering in corporate internal affairs and find a constructive solution to the Nexperia Semiconductor issue. At the same time, China will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and strive to stabilize the stable and smooth operation of the global semiconductor supply chain.
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