By Berk Kutay Gokmen
ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Thursday urged the Netherlands to resolve the chipmaker Nexperia dispute after a Dutch court ordered a probe into the company and upheld the suspension of its CEO.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that the Nexperia problem “lies in the Dutch side's improper administrative intervention within the company's operations,” according to Global Times.
His remarks came after the Enterprise Chamber of Amsterdam’s appeal court ordered an investigation into the operations of Nexperia on Wednesday and upheld the suspension of the company’s CEO, Wing Zhang, according to a statement on the Dutch judiciary’s official website.
Beijing “believes that the Dutch side should promptly facilitate the resolution of internal disputes within the company and create favorable conditions for maintaining the stability and smooth operation of the global semiconductor production and supply chains,” Lin said.
“China will continue to support Chinese enterprises in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests,” he added.
Semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia is an overseas subsidiary of the Chinese company Wingtech Technology Co.
The Dutch government took control of Nexperia in late September, citing concerns about the possible transfer of technology to Wingtech. To do this, it invoked previously unused powers under a Dutch law known as the Availability of Goods Act.
The move, which blocked management decisions deemed a threat to Dutch and European security, followed US warnings about Nexperia's ties to China.
Wingtech called the Dutch government’s intervention in Nexperia “excessive interference driven by geopolitical bias.”