THE HAGUE— The Netherlands has dramatically escalated the global technology conflict, moving to assert effective control over the Chinese-owned semiconductor giant Nexperia, citing an existential threat to European economic and technological sovereignty.
In a move described by officials as “highly exceptional,” the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs invoked the rarely used Goods Availability Act to intervene in the Nijmegen-based firm, a key supplier of chips to the continent’s automotive and consumer electronics sectors. The unprecedented action, announced late Sunday, grants the government power to block or reverse strategic decisions by Nexperia’s management, effectively wresting governance control from its Chinese parent company, Wingtech Technology.
The intervention marks a watershed moment, underscoring how swiftly the battle for chip supremacy has shifted from trade rhetoric to direct state control over private enterprise.
The Governance ‘Shortcomings’ That Triggered a Takeover
The official justification for the radical step was “acute signals of serious governance shortcomings” at Nexperia, which officials warned “posed a threat to the continuity and safeguarding on Dutch and European soil of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities.”
While the ministry declined to detail the specific governance failures, the context is unmistakable: a broader Western push to curb Chinese influence in strategic industries and prevent the leakage of sensitive intellectual property. The Netherlands, home to the world’s most advanced chip equipment maker, ASML, has been under intense pressure from the United States to tighten export controls.
The action was catalyzed by an emergency petition filed by three European Nexperia managers, leading to a swift court order that suspended the company’s Chinese Chairman, Zhang Xuezheng, from his leadership roles. An independent, non-Chinese director has been mandated to assume decisive voting power, effectively putting the company’s strategic rudder under state-backed European oversight.
A Cold War in the Supply Chain
The saga of Nexperia—a former division of Dutch stalwart Philips—epitomizes the geopolitical fault lines reshaping global commerce. Acquired by Wingtech in 2018, the chipmaker has been at the heart of international security concerns:
- U.S. Blacklist: Wingtech was added to the U.S. “Entity List” late last year, curtailing its access to American technology on national security grounds.
- UK Precedent: In 2022, the U.K. government famously forced Nexperia to reverse its acquisition of the Newport Wafer Fab in Wales, also citing national security risks associated with Chinese ownership.
The timing of The Hague’s maneuver is particularly significant, coming just days after Beijing imposed sweeping restrictions on the export of rare earth materials—essential components for high-tech manufacturing. Analysts view the Nexperia takeover as a calculated counter-move in an accelerating cycle of technological and material restrictions.
Wingtech Cries Foul
Wingtech, whose shares plunged 10% on the Shanghai Stock Exchange following the news, condemned the Dutch intervention as a politically-driven overreach.
In a statement, the Chinese firm protested the move as “an act of excessive interference driven by geopolitical bias, not by fact-based risk assessment,” arguing that it “gravely contravenes the European Union’s long-standing advocacy for market-economy principles, fair competition, and international trade norms.”
Crucially, the Dutch action stops short of outright nationalization; Wingtech remains the owner of Nexperia, but it has lost command. The government’s order freezes strategic decisions—including changes to intellectual property, assets, or personnel—for up to a year, a state-mandated strategic pause designed to secure Europe’s footing in the foundational chip technology Nexperia produces.
As the continent’s push for “strategic autonomy” gains urgency, the Nexperia seizure is a stark signal: when it comes to the lifeblood of modern economies, national security is now the ultimate boardroom mandate, willing to trump even the fundamental principles of free-market foreign investment. The battle for technological control has just become very real, and very public.