China Blocks Nexperia Exports Amid Dutch Move to Seize Control of Chipmaker

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Oct 15, 2025 - 09:55 Updated: Oct 15, 2025 - 09:46
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China Blocks Nexperia Exports Amid Dutch Move to Seize Control of Chipmaker

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China has barred Nexperia from exporting certain products made at its China facilities, the Dutch-owned chipmaker said on Oct. 14, as tensions mount after the Dutch government took control of the firm over security concerns.

Nexperia, owned by China’s Wingtech Technology but headquartered in the Netherlands, said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued an export control notice on Oct. 4 prohibiting its China subsidiary and subcontractors from exporting specified finished components and sub-assemblies. The company, a major supplier of mature-node chips used in automotive and consumer electronics, said it is seeking an exemption.
China’s export control action preceded the Dutch government’s decision on Oct. 12 to invoke the Cold War-era Goods Availability Act to assert control over Nexperia’s management, citing signals of “serious governance shortcomings” and the potential loss of critical technological capabilities to foreign interests. It was the first time the law had been used.

“These signals posed a threat to the continuity and safeguarding on Dutch and European soil of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities,” the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. “Losing these capabilities could pose a risk to Dutch and European economic security.”

The Dutch government order imposed restrictions on major corporate decisions at Nexperia—including relocations, executive dismissals, or asset transfers—without government approval for one year.

Nexperia said that the intervention followed an emergency ruling by the Dutch Enterprise Chamber on Oct. 7, which suspended CEO Zhang Xuezheng—founder of Wingtech and Nexperia’s indirect shareholder—citing doubts over sound management. CFO Stefan Tilger has been appointed interim chief executive.

Wingtech denounced the Dutch move, calling it “discriminatory treatment” and an “excessive intervention based on geopolitical bias.”

Nexperia said it is “positive that day-to-day operations can continue” despite the restrictions and is in talks with both Dutch and Chinese authorities to ensure business continuity.

The moves around Nexperia—including China imposing export restrictions on its Chinese operations—reflect deepening geopolitical rifts over semiconductor control. They follow U.S. measures last month extending export controls to subsidiaries at least 50 percent owned by sanctioned entities, capturing Nexperia due to Wingtech’s addition to the U.S. entity list in December 2024.

In the broader struggle between the United States and China over semiconductor supply chains, both sides have been racing to secure control of critical chipmaking technologies. Washington has moved to choke Beijing’s access to advanced manufacturing tools, with U.S. officials expressing concern that Chinese firms could divert civilian technology for military use. Over the past two years, the United States has tightened export controls on equipment capable of producing leading-edge chips and pressed allies such as the Netherlands and Japan to adopt similar restrictions.

Beijing has retaliated with its own export controls on key industrial materials and, now, specific semiconductor products. Last week, China expanded licensing requirements for the export of rare earth minerals, essential inputs for chipmaking, citing national security, with the ban on Nexperia’s China-made exports marking another escalation in the dispute.
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