The Dutch Government takes control of the chip company owned by China

The Dutch government has taken control of NEXPERIA, a chipmaker owned by Chinese, based in the Netherlands, in an attempt to protect the European offering of semiconductors for cars and other electronic goods and to protect Europe’s economic security.

Hague said it had made a decision due to “serious shortcomings of government” and to prevent emergencies inaccessible.

The owner of the Nexperia Wingtech said on Monday that it would take action to protect its rights and seek state support.

Development threatens to increase tensions between the European Union and China, which have increased in recent months due to Beijing’s trade and relationship with Russia.

In December 2024, the US government placed Wingtech in its so -called “list of subjects”, identifying the company as a concern for national security.

According to regulations, US companies are forbidden to export goods produced in US business on the list, unless they have special approval.

In the UK, Nexperia was forced to sell its silicone chip plant in NewportAfter MPs and ministers expressed fears about national security. It currently owns a facility in the UK in Stockport.

The Dutch Economy Ministry said it had made the “extremely exceptional” decision to invoke the Law on the availability of goods over “sharp signals of serious defects in governance” within Nexperia.

“These signals are a threat to the continuity and protection of Dutch and European soil from decisive technological knowledge and capabilities,” the ministry said.

“The loss of these opportunities can pose a risk to Dutch and European Economic Security.”

The statement does not detail why he thinks that the company’s operations are risky. A spokesman for the Minister of Economic Affairs told the BBC that there was no additional information on sharing.

The measures aim to preserve the European supplies of chips to flow and to protect Dutch intellectual property, said EU-China researcher Sacha Cortial.

In a crisis, a Chinese -owned company may be pressured by Beijing to suspend deliveries or prioritize China’s sales by criping European industries as car and electronics manufacturers, he said.

The Hague move puts economic security “above the principles of investment in the free market”, in what could pave the way to other governments, said Mr. Cortial of the Jacques Delors Institute.

The Act of Availability of Goods is intended to allow the Hague to intervene in companies in exceptional circumstances. These include threats to the country’s economic security and to ensure the delivery of critical goods.

According to the order, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Vincent Karemans could turn or block Nexperia’s solutions if they are potentially harmful to the company’s interests, for its future as a business in the Netherlands or Europe, or to ensure that supply remains available in emergencies.

The Dutch government added that the company’s production can continue as usual.

“This measure is intended to mitigate this risk,” the ministry said.

The shares included in the Shanghai list at the NEXPERIA WINGTECH mother company fell 10% on Monday morning.

A Nexperia spokesman said the company “complies all existing laws and regulations, export control and sanctions control regimes” and no more comments.

In a statement in Mandarin, Wingtech said his operations continue continuously and remain in close communication with their suppliers and customers.

Wingtech He said in the submission of shares that the company chairman Gian Suezheng was suspended by the Nexperia advice by a court order in Amsterdam earlier this month.

The company was also in talks with lawyers about potential legal remedies, she added.

The BBC also contacted Chinese embassies in the Netherlands and Brussels.