China accuses Netherlands of fuelling chip crisis over Nexperia seizure

Beijing has blamed the Dutch government’s inaction in resolving the Nexperia dispute, saying The Hague has failed to show a “constructive attitude” and thus is escalating the global semiconductor supply-chain chaos.

Tuesday’s criticism came days after China agreed to exempt compliant orders for chips made by Nexperia’s Chinese facilities from an export ban, following the latest round of trade negotiations with the United States.

While China’s latest move was “in a responsible effort to maintain the stability and security of the global semiconductor supply chain”, the Dutch side “continued to act wilfully without taking concrete actions to solve the problem, which will inevitably exacerbate the negative impact on the global semiconductor supply chain”, China’s Ministry of Commerce said.

“This is something that the Chinese side and the global industry do not want to see,” the ministry statement added.

The Dutch government took the unusual step of seizing control of Nexperia from its Chinese owners on September 30, citing national security concerns and invoking a law that had been sitting idle since 1952.

Although Dutch court filings suggest the action was triggered under US pressure – particularly Washington’s recent move to expand the coverage of its trade blacklist.