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China, EU push Nexperia and Chinese owner to end ‘corporate dispute’ amid chip concerns

Wang Wentao shifts focus to the boardroom but warns the Dutch government must still scrap the executive order and court ruling fuelling the crisis

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Flags fly next to a logo of Nexperia at the facade of its factory in Guangdong province amid a chip-supply shortage caused by a diplomatic standoff between China and the Netherlands over the company. Photo: Reuters
Xiaofei Xuin Paris

Both China and the European Union have signalled that a dispute over semiconductor maker Nexperia should be resolved at the corporate level, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce, as affected countries continue to seek a solution to supply-chain disruptions.

The push for a corporate resolution came after two separate video conferences that Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao had on Wednesday – with German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic.

“Both sides agree that … Nexperia Netherlands and Nexperia China should promptly engage in constructive communication regarding their internal corporate disputes and find an effective, long-term solution,” Chinese commerce authorities said on Thursday, in a statement following Wang’s digital face time with Reiche.

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Acknowledging that the global semiconductor supply chain remains highly fragile, Wang reiterated China’s position that even though Beijing welcomed The Hague’s decision to suspend the executive order that allowed the Dutch government to take control of Nexperia, the Dutch side still needs to revoke the order and withdraw the court ruling – which Beijing sees as the root causes of this issue, according to the statement.

Representatives for the German government did not immediately reply to the Post’s request for comment.

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In the call between Wang and Sefcovic, they pledged to “jointly urge” the entities to start a dialogue and work towards restoring stability to the global semiconductor supply chain, an earlier Chinese statement said on Wednesday.

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