Chip manufacturer Nexperia: Open letter to China without a response
Chip manufacturer Nexperia is calling on the Chinese side in an open letter to restore normal production. So far, without a response.
(Image: asharkyu/Shutterstock.com)
The crisis between the Dutch and Chinese parts of chip manufacturer Nexperia continues. The dispute, which has been ongoing since the end of September, has already led to disruptions in the automotive industry's supply chains. To end the conflict, the Dutch subsidiary of Nexperia has drafted an open letter. It states that they have repeatedly tried to resume dialogue but have received no response from the Chinese subsidiaries.
The cause of the conflict was the takeover of control of Nexperia on September 30, which is headquartered in the Netherlands but owned by the Chinese company Wingtech. At the time, the Dutch government stated that this step was necessary to prevent the company's former CEO from relocating the European activities from his current location in the Netherlands to China.
In response, Beijing stopped the export of chips from China on October 4, which are not easily replaceable in the automotive industry, among other sectors. VW temporarily seemed to require production stoppages, and ZF, an automotive supplier, is facing short-time work. A complete supply stop could be prevented meanwhile.
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China demands complete reversal
A breakthrough in the Nexperia conflict seemed imminent last week when the Netherlands had given up control over the company again. China had demanded this step from the Netherlands before the supply of semiconductors important for the automotive industry would be fully resumed.
Last Wednesday, following a phone call between Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, China pushed for a company-led solution, as reported by the news agency Reuters. According to the report, the Dutch government's decision to suspend the takeover of Nexperia did not go far enough for Beijing. China expects a complete reversal of the measure.
Nexperia manufactures billions of simple but important chips for the automotive industry and other electronic products. The limited availability of these chips has threatened the automotive industry's supply chains and led to production delays and stoppages. The company manufactures the majority of its wafers in Hamburg and then ships them to Dongguan in China. There, they are packaged and sent to customers.
(afl)
