Ministry of commerce

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Friday blasted Dutch economy minister Vincent Karremans' remark saying that "I'd do it all again" over Nexperia standoff with China and claiming this is "a sobering lesson to world leaders" in an interview with The Guardian, and urged the Dutch side to earnestly demonstrate its willingness to cooperate sincerely with China and promptly present substantive and constructive solutions to resolve the issue.

"The Chinese side has noticed relevant remarks, and expresses profound disappointment and strong dissatisfaction with the baseless, misleading, and obstinate remarks," a MOFCOM spokesperson said in a statement on the ministry's website, stressing the semiconductor supply chain crisis has delivered a clear lesson to the world: undue administrative interference in corporate operations must be avoided.

Prior to the Dutch government's executive order announced on September 30 and the Dutch court's erroneous ruling on October 8, the global semiconductor supply chain operated with stability and security. However, the Netherlands' improper intervention - taking control of the 99 percent shares of a wholly-owned private enterprise - violates the spirit of contract and the unreasonable behavior has triggered a destabilizing chain reaction. This is the root cause of global semiconductor supply chain turbulence, the spokesperson said.

The Guardian interview shows that the Dutch side has cited Goods Availability Act after inviting some people to the minister's office, and hastily came up with executive order and pushed court to make ruling at extreme short period of time. Such actions represent both reckless and absurd, according to the spokesperson.

The Netherlands, a nation renowned for its commitment to rule of law, has in this case seen certain officials violate legal procedures and fail to protect the legitimate rights of foreign enterprises, forcibly seizing shares in a wholly-owned subsidiary of a Chinese listed company. This has severely damaged the Netherlands' business environment and government credibility, the spokesperson said.

The Chinese side has always adopted a responsible attitude, taken practical measures, and granted exemptions for compliant exports intended for civilian use, making every effort to restore the smooth and stable operation of the global semiconductor supply chain. In the short term, thanks to the Chinese side's efforts, the semiconductor supply chain crisis has been somewhat alleviated, the spokesperson said.

However, due to the actions of the Dutch side, the global semiconductor supply chain remains fragile, and the situation is still severe. The Dutch side has disregarded the security and stability of the global semiconductor supply chain, not only failing to take any substantive actions to address the issues, but also turning a blind eye to Nexperia (Netherlands) refusing to supply wafers to Chinese companies and issuing legal letters to prevent Chinese foundries from fulfilling external orders, which has led to many automakers still facing supply disruption risks and escalated an internal dispute within one company into a systemic risk across the global semiconductor supply chain, the spokesperson noted.

The Chinese side has agreed to the Dutch side dispatching personnel to China for consultations and is willing to work together with the Dutch side, from the overarching perspective of safeguarding the security and stability of the global semiconductor supply chain, to resolve the current crisis as soon as possible, according to the spokesperson. 

However, it must be emphasized that the Dutch side should come with constructive proposals, rather than just going through the motions or repeating the same old tune; should aim to solve problems, rather than creating new ones and contradictions. We hope that the Dutch side will genuinely demonstrate its sincere willingness to cooperate with the Chinese side, and promptly put forward substantive and constructive solutions to the issues, the MOFCOM spokesperson noted.

Nexperia China issued a statement to all employees on Friday refuting the recent claims made in a letter under the name of Stefan Tilger, Nexperia Netherlands interim CEO, saying the letter disregards the facts and attempts to confuse the public, fully reflecting that some members of Nexperia Netherlands' management are shirking responsibility and showing a blatant disregard for the vital interests of all Nexperia China employees, according to the official WeChat account of Nexperia China.

In response to the improper interference by the Dutch government, Nexperia China has actively carried out "self-rescue production" in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, striving to keep all production and business operations running in an orderly manner, and cooperating with the Chinese government's request to resume relevant exports for civilian use, said Nexperia China in Friday's statement.

However, certain members of Nexperia Netherlands' management have maliciously obstructed and disrupted Nexperia China's production and operations by cutting off wafer supply and questioning the quality of Nexperia China's products, said the statement, noting that they have even shirked the obligations and responsibilities they should bear toward Nexperia China, failing to allocate funds and provide necessary support as agreed.

Such actions disregard the interests of customers, Nexperia China, and all its employees, said the statement, noting that the move by Nexperia Netherlands is highly irresponsible and completely contradict the claims in the letter by Nexperia Netherlands.

Despite the improper interference by the Dutch government and the malicious obstruction and shirking of responsibility by certain members of Nexperia Netherlands' management, Nexperia China remains fully capable, confident, and committed to providing full salaries and benefits to all of its employees.

Global Times