(Nov 28): China’s Wingtech Technology Co has appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court to restore its control over chipmaker Nexperia BV, underscoring deep-seated tensions despite a temporary truce that allowed some components to start flowing again.
Wingtech accused the Amsterdam Enterprise Chamber of overstepping its jurisdiction and letting Nexperia management and the Dutch state to influence the outcome, according to legal filings seen by Bloomberg News.
The appeal specifically targets the Amsterdam court’s decision that transferred the company’s shares, except for one, to a court-appointed trustee. The same court also suspended Wingtech’s founder Zhang Xuezheng as the chipmaker’s chief executive officer, a move that Wingtech is also contesting.
Wingtech argues that the government’s move to secure powers over Nexperia — which was frozen but not rescinded last week — played a role in the process, even if it was technically separate.
By relying on submissions from Nexperia’s management and the ministry of economic affairs and not granting Wingtech a chance to respond, there was an “extraordinary and historic” breach of due process, Wingtech said in the filing.
The court battle is the latest indication that the spat is far from resolved, despite progress on the political level. On Thursday, Nexperia issued an open letter to the management of its Chinese subsidiary, highlighting the breakdown in communications within the company.
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The Nijmegen-based company warned that deliveries to customers remain disrupted as a result of a lack of cooperation with its Chinese facility. Wingtech pushed back against the allegations, saying the letter contained false information and avoided the core issues that created the crisis — namely, the intervention by the Dutch state.
The dispute burst into the open in October after the Dutch state enacted powers to block or reverse decisions at Nexperia over concerns that Wingtech was shifting cutting-edge equipment and intellectual property out of Europe. Beijing retaliated by imposing export restrictions on parts made at Nexperia’s Guangdong plant, which previously accounted for about half the company’s output.
The clash quickly spilled into the global automotive industry, where Nexperia supplies power-control and logic chips for systems that manage everything from engines to batteries and braking. Automakers including Honda Motor Co and Volkswagen AG were forced to slow or pause production as supplies dwindled.
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A temporary truce was brokered after weeks of talks involving officials from China, the Netherlands, Germany, the European Union and the US. With Beijing agreeing to relax export controls, the immediate supply squeeze eased, even if deeper issues were left unresolved.
Wingtech’s filing alleges that Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans sought to unfairly influence the court. The appeal cites a letter sent to the Enterprise Chamber on Oct 1 by the ministry’s lawyers, endorsing an 81-page request from Nexperia’s management almost immediately after it was filed.
Wingtech argues the tight sequence of events created the appearance of a coordinated effort and suggests the ministry had access to documents in advance — contradicting Karremans’s public comments. Wingtech also wants the government to withdraw support for Zhang’s suspension as Nexperia CEO.
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