A logo of Nexperia Photo: VCG

China's Wingtech Technology on Friday slammed Nexperia B.V.'s attempt to evade responsibility and divert attention from the real issues, as well as its lack of sincerity in properly resolving matters, when responding to an open letter from the Dutch unit claiming they received "no meaningful response" from Nexperia's China entities on restoring the supply chain. Wingtech is the parent company of Nexperia.

Wingtech made the remarks in a statement posted on its official WeChat account, stating that the open letter from Nexperia B.V. "contains a large number of misleading and untrue allegations, as well as false information." It also said that the unlawful deprivation of Wingtech's control and shareholder rights over Nexperia is the root cause of the current chaos and disruption in the global semiconductor supply chain.

The statement said the control dispute between Wingtech and Nexperia is a key issue affecting global semiconductor supply chain stability, and restoring Wingtech's lawful control is essential to resolving the current challenges.

Wingtech further pointed out that despite repeated outreach, Nexperia B.V. has ignored legitimate demands from its Chinese parent company, avoided the core issues behind the crisis, and shown no basic sincerity for dialogue, adding that Nexperia B.V. continues to evade the core issues and lacks sincerity in communication. 

Wingtech urged Nexperia B.V. to face the issues seriously and to work to safeguard supply chain stability, including facing the core issues directly without further delay or evasion, presenting constructive proposals to restore Wingtech's lawful control over Nexperia, and immediately responding to its request for consultations and to commence dialogue.

Wingtech emphasized that the global semiconductor industry cannot be separated from collaborative cooperation among enterprises of all countries, or from common respect for market rules. Nexperia B.V. should promote problem resolution and help safeguard the stability and prosperity of the global chip industry chain, said the statement.

Just following Wingtech's announcement, Nexperia China also refuted the Dutch unit's so-called allegations in a statement, stressing that there is no situation in which Nexperia China "cannot be contacted." The Chinese unit also solemnly presented demands to Nexperia B.V., including halting capacity expansion plans in Malaysia and other overseas regions, resuming the supply of production-essential wafers to Nexperia China, and terminating all unreasonable actions pressuring suppliers to stop supplying Nexperia China.

An open letter published on Nexperia's Dutch unit's website dated November 27 claims that the company is seeking constructive collaboration with its Chinese units to restore normal supply as industry customers are still facing imminent production halts.

The Dutch company urges leadership of entities in China to take immediate steps toward structured negotiations to resolve the supply chain disruptions.

A Chinese expert blasts the move by Nexperia's Dutch unit as a typical "blame-shifting" tactic aimed at avoiding responsibility for problems of the company's own making, as the Dutch chipmaker claimed that they did not receive any "meaningful response" from leadership of its entities in China on restoring the supply chain.

The Dutch unit's move came after Wingtech Technology, Chinese parent company of Nexperia, said on November 23 in a public statement that Nexperia's Dutch unit and its related parties' series of unilateral actions have posed a potential threat to the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain, urging Nexperia in the Netherlands to genuinely respond and communicate to resolve control issues in order to safeguard the stability of the global supply chain.

The issue was sparked by the Dutch side and a complete resolution requires the responsible party to handle the aftermath, Ma Jihua, a veteran telecom industry analyst, told the Global Times on Friday, noting that the Dutch side should present concrete measures rather than urging the Chinese side.

Ma added that Nexperia's Dutch unit has been adopting a delaying tactic without substantive action. "The entire process demonstrates [of Dutch side] a lack of credibility, repeatedly overturning previous commitments and actions. The issues must be addressed through institutional and legal measures before China can effectively respond," the expert noted.

The Dutch government decided in September to seize control of Nexperia Netherlands from Wingtech, over so-called economic security concerns and suspend Nexperia Netherlands' CEO Zhang Xuezheng.

Since then, Chinese ministries, including MOFCOM and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have on various occasions slammed the Dutch government for meddling in the operations of Nexperia, violating market principles, and causing chaos and disturbance in the supply chain related to the Nexperia issue. They urged the Dutch side to work toward finding constructive solutions to the Nexperia issue.

Government officials of China and the Netherlands held two rounds of consultations in Beijing regarding the Nexperia issue on November 18 and 19, during which the Dutch side offered to suspend the administrative order issued under the "Availability of Goods Act," according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

The MOFCOM said on November 19 that China welcomes the Dutch side's suspension of administrative order regarding intervention over Nexperia, but said the suspension still falls short of addressing the root cause of the turmoil caused to the global semiconductor industrial and supply chain, urging the Dutch side to demonstrate a genuine willingness to cooperate and put forward a truly constructive solution.

Recently, senior Chinese commerce officials held multiple talks with European officials regarding the Nexperia issue. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao held a meeting via video link with the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic for in-depth exchanges on issues including the Nexperia case and other trade and investment matters on Wednesday, according to a statement published on the MOFCOM website.

Sefcovic expressed appreciation for the great efforts made by the MOFCOM to help address the Nexperia issue and prevent a broader crisis in the global semiconductor supply chain, according to the statement.

During a separate video talk on November 20, UK business minister Peter Kyle expressed gratitude for China's briefing on the Nexperia issue and China's efforts in restoring the global semiconductor industrial and supply chains. He said the UK side believes that the long-term solution lies in enterprises resolving internal disputes through consultations, and is willing to engage with the Dutch side to jointly promote the swift restoration of security and stability in the global semiconductor supply and industrial chains, according to a MOFCOM statement.