【By Guan察者网, Ruan Jiaqi】

The Dutch government's seizure of a Chinese company nearly triggered a global automotive industry "production shutdown." As information from this week's Dutch parliamentary hearing gradually surfaced, the incident, which even European allies found absurd, has revealed more internal details.

According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, on Thursday, during a questioning session in the House of Representatives regarding the Amphenol Semiconductor incident, the acting Dutch minister of economic affairs, Karel van den Bosch, admitted that he was "blindsided" (caught off guard) by China's countermeasures to block chip exports.

He explained, "We did assess possible countermeasures, but this wasn't the one we considered most likely from China."

Karel van den Bosch attending a debate at the Dutch parliament on April 4th, Dutch media

The South China Morning Post reported that during this long hearing, Van den Bosch's conduct was criticized by MPs as "reckless," "hasty," and "inexperienced," with repeated questions about "why he failed to predict China's countermeasures."

Van den Bosch repeatedly defended himself, claiming that the decision "was carefully thought through and based on sufficient grounds, taking into account all risks and information, and was thoroughly weighed." He argued, "We believed the possibility of China imposing export controls was low, as such measures are typically tools for non-proliferation."

More MPs also demanded an explanation of why he acted rashly without consulting the parliament, the EU, or the auto industry.

Volt Party MP Laurens Dassen questioned, "We have doubts about this hasty execution, it's like a driver hits the accelerator but forgets to update the navigation system. Did the minister fully anticipate China's possible response?"

Faced with criticism, Van den Bosch still insisted, "You can never predict what China will do."

"There is no certainty beforehand. When making such decisions, you can never know how things will unfold," he continued, "We never consider just one scenario in isolation, but rather assess them in combination with their probability. This risk assessment was done in the same way."

According to British media reports, this debate was arranged at the explicit request of the Dutch parliament before Van den Bosch's scheduled visit to China. However, on Tuesday (2nd), Van den Bosch wrote to the parliament, stating he had canceled his planned trip to China due to scheduling conflicts. He also said that if needed, he would visit China again soon, with the new date to be determined.

But in parliament, several Dutch MPs pointed out that the cancellation was actually because China refused to meet him.

PVV Party MP Alexander Kops asked, "Why isn't the minister visiting China next week? Is it because Chinese ministers are too busy? That's not strange, is it? Such trips should be scheduled and meetings arranged in advance, right?"

Van den Bosch denied this, insisting it was a personal decision to delay the visit.

"That's not the case," he stammered, explaining, "Arranging such trips always requires confirming... whether a ministerial meeting can be achieved... and often the schedules of both sides don't match, as ministers in various countries have many things to handle."

Despite being heavily criticized, Van den Bosch showed no remorse, continuing to defend himself, claiming that the intervention had already been effective. He said, "I prevented Europe's reliance on non-European suppliers on key traditional chips." He added, "I didn't want to interfere with a company, but it was necessary for the interests of the Netherlands and Europe."

When asked why he didn't inform European allies, the US, and China beforehand, Van den Bosch tried to justify himself, saying he had "no choice," fearing that the plan leaking would increase the "possibility of the news reaching China."

He also denied that the US had influenced the matter, insisting that the US's demand to list Amphenol Semiconductor on the sanctions list and replace its Chinese management had nothing to do with the Dutch government's intervention.

The report mentioned that despite constant self-defense, Van den Bosch also admitted regret (regret) over his remarks in an interview with The Guardian last month. At that time, he claimed he had no regrets about causing a dispute and would not change his actions even if he looked back now.

Conservative Party MP Pieter Grinwis angrily criticized the "notorious" interview, calling it "pouring oil on the fire," which not only worsened the situation but also angered multiple European governments, leading them to protest to The Hague.

This was one of the few times Van den Bosch acknowledged fault in the hearing. He said, "Looking back now, I can be 100% certain that there was another way to handle it... especially when making statements to the media."

The situation is far from resolved, with MPs continuing to question Van den Bosch's next steps: Will China fully resume chip exports? Can Europe rebuild trust in its decision-making capability? Can the diplomatic rift between the Netherlands and China be repaired?

Speaking of this, Van den Bosch began emphasizing negotiations with China, stating that he had suspended the intervention order as a "diplomatic gesture," and claimed that he would not have made this decision without China "taking the first step" to restore Amphenol's factory exports in China.

Regarding the current situation, Van den Bosch admitted that the differences between Amphenol (Netherlands) and Amphenol (China) remained unresolved, and the current communication status was still poor.

"Due to a series of previous events, the current communication between the two sides is very limited. Therefore, seeking a practical solution to fully restore normal operations on both ends of the supply chain is crucial," he said.

A worker walks through a cleanroom at Amphenol Semiconductor. Visual China

On September 30, the Dutch government, citing so-called "national security," invoked the "Goods Availability Act" to "forcibly take over" the wholly-owned subsidiary of China's leading semiconductor company, Wanxiang Technology, Amphenol Semiconductor, but only publicly announced it on October 12.

"Van den Bosch's intervention sparked a diplomatic dispute," noted Dutch media nu.nl, pointing out that multiple parties in the Netherlands raised serious doubts about Van den Bosch's intervention, with people from all walks of life accusing him of "unilateral action, making decisions without attempting to negotiate with China."

In a letter to the Dutch parliament on the 2nd, Van den Bosch tried to shift blame. He provided a timeline of the intervention, claiming the decision was jointly made by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Defense Minister, and Trade Secretary on September 25. However, he admitted that the Netherlands informed Britain, Germany, the United States, and China only after taking actual action.

On November 19, Van den Bosch posted a statement on social media platform X, stating that the Dutch government decided to take constructive measures to suspend the intervention against Amphenol Semiconductor. He said that in the past few days, the Netherlands had held constructive talks with China, and the Netherlands' measures aimed to "show goodwill."

After that, the Netherlands once again pretended to be the victim. On November 27, the Dutch subsidiary of Amphenol Semiconductor sent an open letter, accusing the Chinese subsidiary of Amphenol Semiconductor of repeatedly trying to resume dialogue but receiving no response. Amphenol China has strongly refuted this claim, accusing Amphenol Netherlands of misleading the public.

On November 28, Wuxi Technology stated that it had appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court against the decision by the Amsterdam court to deprive its subsidiary Amphenol Semiconductor of control. Wuxi Technology stated that the Dutch subsidiary of Amphenol was avoiding the issue of its "legitimate control rights," making negotiations difficult to maintain.

According to the Ministry of Commerce website, on November 26, Minister of Commerce Wang Wen Tao held a video conference with the European Commission's Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Sefcovic, exchanging in-depth views on trade and economic issues including Amphenol Semiconductor.

Wang Wen Tao stated that regarding the Amphenol Semiconductor issue, the source and responsibility for the current global semiconductor supply chain chaos lie with the Netherlands. The Chinese government has always taken a responsible attitude, promptly taking concrete measures to strive to maintain and restore the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain. Recently, the Netherlands announced the suspension of the administrative order, taking a small step towards resolving the issue, but the improper administrative and judicial intervention by the Netherlands against enterprises has not yet been canceled, and the global semiconductor supply chain has not yet returned to normal, still facing significant uncertainties. The hope is that the EU will play an active role, urging the Dutch government to quickly propose a constructive solution, creating favorable conditions for companies to conduct internal negotiations.

This article is exclusive to the Observer, and may not be reproduced without permission.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7580763855521989172/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.