Dutch Hand Back Control of Chinese-Owned Chipmaker Nexperia

(Bloomberg) — The Dutch government suspended its powers over chipmaker Nexperia, restoring control to its Chinese owner and defusing a standoff with Beijing that had begun to hamper automotive production around the world.

The order that gave the Netherlands powers to block or revise decisions at Nexperia was dropped as “a show of goodwill,” Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans said Wednesday in a post on social media site X.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Bloomberg had reported earlier this month that the Netherlands was prepared to take the step if chip deliveries from the company’s site in China could be confirmed.

The move marks a significant de-escalation of a dispute that underscored the global nature of supply chains and highlighted Beijing’s growing leverage. Even though Nexperia’s chips aren’t advanced and the company only operates one facility in China, the spat disrupted automakers from Honda Motor Co. (HMC, 7267.T) to Volkswagen AG (VOW3.DE, VWAGY).

Karremans sparked the dispute in late September by invoking a Cold War-era law to gain powers over decisions at Nexperia, which is owned by China’s Wingtech Technology Co. (600745.SS) The Chinese government retaliated by imposing export restrictions over components from the Dutch company’s facility in Guangdong, which assembles chips from wafers made in Europe.

The reversal by the Dutch government was set in motion after a breakthrough in talks earlier that involved Chinese and Dutch officials, with input from Germany, the European Union as well as the US. To help resolve the stalemate, Beijing agreed to loosen export restrictions from Nexperia’s Chinese plant, the largest of its kind in the world.

The Dutch economic affairs ministry sent a delegation to Beijing this week to negotiate a “mutually agreeable solution,” according to a ministry statement.

—With assistance from Charlotte Hughes-Morgan.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.