A swift resolution of the Sino-Dutch row over the control of Chinese-owned, Netherlands-based chipmaker Nexperia is not likely, according to analysts, which means semiconductor supplies for the global car industry remain uncertain.
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That assessment comes a day after China’s Ministry of Commerce accused The Hague of “going its own way, without taking concrete steps to resolve the issue”, even as the mainland regulator considered exempting some Nexperia orders from an export ban that it imposed last month on the firm’s China unit.
Nexperia China, meanwhile, said it aimed to secure alternative foundry sources for processed wafers, as the European fabrication facilities under the Dutch chipmaker’s head office continue to suspend wafer supplies to its factory in Dongguan, in southern Guangdong province. The China unit assembles 70 per cent of all the chipmaker’s products.
“As none of the parties want to appear to be making concessions prematurely, progress towards a resolution is bound to be gradual rather than immediate,” said Zhao Zhijiang, an assistant researcher at the Beijing-based think tank Anbound.
“This process will not be swift”, Zhao added, as Chinese President Xi Jinping and his counterpart, Donald Trump, last week reached a trade truce to de-escalate tensions.
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That deal included postponing a rule announced on September 29 that blacklisted majority-owned subsidiaries of Chinese companies on Washington’s Entity List. Nexperia is owned by Wingtech Technology, which was added to the US trade blacklist in December last year.