China Grants Exemptions to Nexperia Chip Export Restrictions for Civilian Use

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Dutch officials said they intervened because of “serious governance shortcomings” at Nexperia, asserting control to prevent the loss of crucial tech know-how.

The spokesperson for the Chinese ministry said the “root cause and responsibility for the current disruption” lies with the Dutch government.

The spokesperson did not specify what is considered to be civilian use in the announcement, or which exemptions had been granted.

German and Japanese companies confirmed deliveries of Nexperia’s China-manufactured chips had resumed.

“How quickly and sustainably this system works will largely depend on the stability of relations between the United States and China,” he said.

Honda Executive Vice President Noriya Kaihara said she had received word that shipments had resumed the same day.

As part of the move, Dutch authorities suspended Nexperia CEO Zhang Xuezheng—founder of Wingtech Technology, the China-based company that owns Nexperia—and installed an interim European leadership. The decision drew immediate condemnation from Beijing and Wingtech, which accused The Hague of “discriminatory treatment” and “excessive intervention based on geopolitical bias.”

“Given the constructive nature of our talks with the Chinese authorities, the Netherlands trusts that the supply of chips from China to Europe and the rest of the world will reach Nexperia’s customers over the coming days,“ Karremans said. ”The Netherlands will closely monitor and support these developments, and will take the appropriate steps on our part where necessary.”

He said that Brussels was continuing to work toward “a lasting, stable, predictable framework that ensures the full restoration of semiconductor flows.”

Sun Kuo-hsiang, an international affairs professor at Nanhua University in Taiwan, said the Netherlands’ move signals a deepening realization that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) industrial ambitions pose not only commercial but national security risks.

Feng Chongyi, associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney, said Europe is finally acknowledging that it is already in a de facto Cold War with the CCP.

“The Cold War was fundamentally a clash between incompatible systems,” Feng told The Epoch Times. “To transfer technology to the CCP is to aid the enemy.”

The Epoch Times contacted the Dutch government and Nexperia for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.