State control of Nexperia suspended after China talks

The Dutch government announced on Wednesday that it’s suspending its intervention in Nexperia. “In the past few days, we’ve had constructive meetings with the Chinese authorities. We’re positive about the measures already taken by them to ensure the supply of chips to Europe and the rest of the world. We see this as a show of goodwill. We’ll continue to engage in constructive dialogue with the Chinese authorities in the period ahead,” Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans said in a statement.

Karremans had ordered to take control of the chipmaker on 30 September to prevent its former CEO from relocating operations to China. Beijing responded by halting exports of Nexperia’s finished chips on 4 October, a move that threatened automotive supply chains worldwide. Efforts to resume supply have only been partially successful.

The ongoing dialogue and the gesture of Karremans may signal the start of de-escalation in the standoff between The Hague and Beijing. Current negotiations don’t cover the legal battle over CEO and owner Zhang Xuezheng, who was suspended by a Dutch court.