Preliminary
At the end of September, the Dutch government suddenly took action on the Anse Semiconductor, which is held by China, and the action is too quick.
The government, citing an old Cold War bill, forced to take over the company, suspended the Chinese CEO and froze powers., and also trusts the equity to a third party.
It appears to be for "supply chain security", but the reasons are empty and the evidence is insufficient.Documents later exposed showed that the United States had asked the Netherlands to "replace the China CEO" months ago.
This politically controlled takeover was thought to stabilize the situation, but in just ten days it triggered a chain of chaos in European industries.
Do I have a shell in my hand?
The biggest mistake of the Dutch government in this move was to assume it had shares and legal control of the company, which is equivalent to mastering the lifeblood of the enterprise.
They didn’t understand that a company’s registered location is not the same as its actual control center.On the surface, they "took over" Angser Semiconductor's Dutch headquarters, but in essence they control nothing.
The Dutch part of the business only accounts for less than 30% of the company's production capacity, and it is mainly in low value-added aspects such as packaging and testing. The real heart of the company’s operations has long been in China.
Since the acquisition of Anse in 2019 by Zhou Tai Technology for $33 billion, Dongguan base has become the core location., this 80,000-square-meter factory has undertaken more than 70% of the company's production capacity and completed nearly half of the world's sealing and testing tasks. Also passed official certification of BMW, Volkswagen and other German car companies.
All production data and scheduling systems are concentrated in China, and data support outside of the Netherlands leaves China and can not maintain normal operation at all.
As a result, a very embarrassing situation arose, The Dutch government-designated trustee although nominally holds 99 percent of the shares, but not even a valid production order could be sent out within three weeks.
The factory is in China, the data is in China, and the production system is also in China.The Dutch order did not pass. Inventory losses of more than 2 million euros per day can only be watched and watched.
On October 18, China Semiconductor Corporation openly stated that all employees only listen to the instructions of the domestic headquarters.Not accepting any unauthorized orders from outside, at that moment the Dutch government’s so-called “acquisition” was completely bankrupt, with only one empty shell left in their hands.
Cut the Gordian knot quickly and guess who is Ma
The Netherlands 'actions also underestimated China's ability to counterattackThe Netherlands may have thought that at most, there would be diplomatic protests, but they did not expect that China's response would come so quickly and fiercely, directly hitting their soft spot.
Only four days after the announcement, on October 4, the Ministry of Commerce of China issued an export control announcement., restrict the export of specific chip products to Anshi's affiliates in Europe.
These regulated products are the core components urgently needed by the European automobile industry, including gauge diodes, power devices, etc. As a result, overnight, The average daily shipment of Anselm China's factory dropped from 3,8 million units to zero, and the production line of the European automobile plant was immediately impacted.
This move is not only retaliation, but also a reminder that without China's cooperation, Europe's manufacturing industry will be difficult to maintain.Immediately afterwards, China introduced new rare earth export regulations, further demonstrating its ability to control key raw materials.
This counterattack is particularly dangerous for the Netherlands, whose proudest pillar of science and technology, Asma, more than a third of its revenue comes from the Chinese market.
Nearly 30% of the world's EUV lithography machines are also deployed in China.This series of actions by China is equivalent to making the Netherlands realize that the economic and industrial dependence is much deeper than they thought.
Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Customs also subtly adjusted the customs time for some Dutch goods, extending from the original few hours to three days.
This silent pressure, although not apparent, actually increases the cost of enterprises.It also made the Dutch side feel the huge influence of China on the supply chain, all of which completely failed their original plans.
Why did the agreed teammate stab the knife first?
The Dutch government may have naïve fantasies, Standing on the ethical high ground of “supply chain security” will receive political solidarity and industrial support from our European and American allies.
But the reality is just the opposite. Their actions quickly triggered a strong backlash from the industry. The first to stand up were the automobile companies directly affected.
BMW's CEO immediately wrote to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, pointing out that the lack of cores caused the company to lose more than one billion euros a month, and warned that if the problem was not solved, it would move the electric vehicle production line from Germany to Shenyang, China.
Subsequently, German car companies such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi also joined forces to establish the "Supply Chain Emergency Alliance"The Netherlands is urged to resume the supply of Anselm as soon as possible.
Even American auto giants have been affected, GM's SUV production line in North America was forced to cut jobs because of a lack of core, sparking protests by the American Automobile Workers' Federation.
The situation continues to deteriorate, more than a dozen European and American car companies form a joint lobbying group., sent a letter to the Dutch government, threatening to boycott Dutch imports of flowers and agricultural products if the problem was not resolved within two weeks.
This is a deadly blow to the Netherlands, as these industries account for more than 2% of the national GDP.Related to people's livelihoods, there is a proposal to look for alternative chip suppliers.
But it will take at least six months to re-certify new products, and the cost will rise significantly, which will not solve the crisis of supply cuts.
The anger of the industry quickly spread to politics, and the Dutch parliament burst into fierce questioningEconomic ministers are forced to acknowledge that there are problems with the action and put responsibility on “external advisors” who are in close contact with the U.S. think tank.
This prevarication exposed the lack of internal consensus from the beginning of the whole thing and the lack of real support from allies.In the end, the takeover was completely reduced to a win-lose case for politics and economics.
conclusion
This incident of Nexperia is actually a reminder to all countries, global industries are no longer the era when no one has the final say.
The Dutch government's passivity this time shows that it is no longer possible to truly control the industrial chain through administrative orders or political pressure alone. Real strength depends on whether you can create value and be irreplaceable in the global production system.
If you want to rely on "decoupling" to protect yourself, you will only make yourself passive. Win-win cooperation is the most feasible and rational choice in the real world.