The Observer Network by Nguyen Jaki
The "occupation" of Chinese-funded enterprises caused the disruption of the global automobile supply chain, and the Dutch Prime Minister who went to Brussels to attend the meeting was sweating profusely.
On October 23, local time, the EU leaders held a summit in Brussels. Reuters, France News and others that the Dutch Prime Minister Shof, who became the focus of concern due to the government's forced control of the Anchor Semiconductor, tried to defend the government's actions before the summit began.
He claimed that Nexperia's problem was "mismanagement by its CEO" and that the Dutch government's control of the Chinese-funded enterprise was not "aimed at China."
On Thursday evening, Skov again responded, saying that at the EU summit he had discussed with other European leaders the situation related to the Anselm Semiconductor.
"At tonight's dinner, I briefly explained the situation of Nexperia. Of course, many leaders are interested in this matter," Schoff continued to argue after the summit. "I explained that this matter is aimed at a dereliction CEO, not against China. We are making every effort to resolve the current situation as soon as possible to ensure that these chips can be supplied back in Europe."
Shoff also said his explanation gave parties a better “understanding” of “the actions taken by the Netherlands.”
On October 23, local time, the EU summit was held in Brussels, Belgium, with Dutch Prime Minister Schhoff. Oriental IC
Automobile manufacturing has been hit hard, Germany wants to be a "peacemaker"
According to a report by the Dutch "Telegraph" on the 23rd, the Netherlands' actions have been criticized by Germany, whose automotive industry relies heavily on chips produced by Nexperia. German media pointed out that each car can be equipped with up to 500 such chips, which are the control cores of various systems of the vehicle, such as turning on the lights and folding the rearview mirror.
Talking about this, Schhoff responded,"This fully exposes Europe's vulnerability." But he still insisted that intervention in response to alleged "mismanagement" was "necessary."
"We are also very aware of the consequences... We are making every effort to solve the problem. The most important thing at present is to establish a good management mechanism to ensure that chip production can be resumed in a responsible manner," he added.
Schoff revealed that in recent days, the Netherlands and China have held consultations on this issue, and have also discussed this matter with a number of EU member states, especially Germany.
The Telegraph that on the night before the summit, a “crisis conference” was held in Berlin, attending officials from the German Federal Ministry of Economy and senior business leaders, aimed at exploring ways to calm Chinese dissatisfaction.
The German Business Journal was informed by participants that Frank Wetzler, the State Secretary of the German Ministry of Economy in charge of industrial affairs, has reached a consensus with industry associations and companies on the main objectives.
Among them, the German government plans to mediate between the Central, Dutch and U.S. three countries to a warming down and avoid economic losses.
According to the German weekly Mirror, the Federal Ministry of Economy said it is currently communicating with relevant companies, Dutch and European partners in "many forms".
A spokesman for the ministry said: “We are speaking to China through all available channels for the interests of German procurement companies regarding the current situation of the Anchor Semiconductor.”
German Chancellor Merz told reporters before going to Brussels to attend the meeting that Germany is still trying to find a solution acceptable to both sides and does not want the conflict to escalate further. But he added,"China must understand that we cannot accept what is happening."
The German Automobile Industry Association (VDA) told the Dutch Telegraph that the real solution lies on the political level.
Although the Dutch side has repeatedly denied that the U.S. was behind, insisting on "autonomous decision-making", the VDA believes that "this matter requires negotiations between the U.S. and China, and the Netherlands is stuck in the middle."
German and Dutch leaders at the EU summit. Oriental IC
"The fire is spreading to aerospace and mechanical engineering..."
Chip expert Martin Geißler told Germany's Handelsblatt that there are only a few suppliers worldwide that can theoretically replace Nexperia's products. For example, Infineon, headquartered in Munich, can provide about a quarter of Nexperia's products.
But Geissler pointed out that the biggest problem at present is that Anshi Semiconductor's components have been deeply integrated into the supply chains of many customers."The step of recertification alone may take months, and switching to a new supplier is very likely It will take several quarters."
He said about one-third of the companies in the automotive supply chain actually rely on Anselm Semiconductor as an exclusive supplier.
It has long been a secret that the automotive industry relies heavily on the Chinese-owned semiconductor enterprise, and the German media noted that although the German government has not clearly stated which industries in the country are affected by the breach, companies in the field of aerospace and mechanical engineering seem to have also been affected.
According to Handelsblatt, Germany's machinery manufacturing industry has also been forced to realign its supply chains and remain vigilant about developments.
Deutz Group is Germany's oldest engine manufacturer. Its spokesperson told German media that the chip outage also affected the group's suppliers.
“We are in close contact with these suppliers and have set up special working groups to avoid unexpected impacts on current business operations.At the same time, like other market participants, we look forward to a political solution in the near term.”
Screenshot of Deutz Group's official website
Germany's KION Group, a world-renowned forklift manufacturing and supply chain solution provider, also purchases chips from Nexperia. In response to the inquiry, the spokesman said that although the specific extent of the impact is still unclear, it has indeed "truly felt the impact of this chip crisis."
Siemens also said that it was closely monitoring developments and analyzing potential impacts and alternatives. its spokesman stressed that Siemens has begun to diversify the supply chain many years ago, purchasing semiconductors from multiple suppliers.
According to a report by Prewave, an analyst for supply chain risks, “all European aerospace and defense companies use Anselm Semiconductor chips produced in China.”
Harald Nitschinger, Chief Executive Officer of Prewave, added that in the automotive industry, 49% of enterprises purchase Chinese-made Anselm semiconductor chips; this percentage reaches 95% in machinery manufacturing and 86% in medical technology.
According to reports, the report analyzed the supply chain relationships between 107 leading European enterprises in seven major industries.The results showed that across industries, 86% of enterprises purchased chips from Anchor Semiconductor production sites in China.
This means that not only Germany, “most industries in Europe face potential risks.”
According to AFP, the EU is also pushing for an urgent solution to the issue through negotiations, however, EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Dan Browski, has not forgotten the threat in an interview with the German newspaper The Economist.
He claimed that if the situation does not improve, the EU is "studying possible countermeasures." But he refused to discuss specific measures publicly.
There have been many arguments within the EU that incite the European Commission to use the "Anti-Coercion Tool"(ACI), a powerful trade measure. But European diplomats denied this claim. They stated that this option is not being considered at this stage.
“With regard to China, we have never mentioned ‘counter coercion tools’,” one EU diplomat said.
According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, on October 21, Minister Wang Wentao held a video meeting with European Commission Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Shevcovic at the request of the Secretary-General to discuss key China-EU economic and trade issues such as export controls and the EU's electric vehicle countervailing case against China. Exchange of views.
Wang Ventao said that regarding the issue of rare-earth export control, China's recent measures are the normal practice of improving China's export control system in accordance with the law, reflecting China's responsibility for safeguarding world peace and stability.
Wang Wentao said that on the issue of Ansei Semiconductor, China firmly opposes the generalization of the concept of "national security". Greece and Europe play an important constructive role and urges the Netherlands to adhere to the spirit of contract and market principles, and to maintain the security and stability of the global production and supply chain. Starting from the overall situation, we will propose appropriate solutions as soon as possible.
Sevcovic said that the EU understands that China has introduced rare earth-related export control measures for national security and international common security considerations. During the implementation of the measures, it is hoped that China can speed up the examination and approval of applications from European enterprises. Regarding the Nexperia issue, the EU is willing to actively assist the Netherlands and China to strengthen communication when necessary, find solutions as soon as possible, and jointly maintain the stability of the global production and supply chain.
The two sides agreed to hold an "upgraded version" of the China-EU export control dialogue mechanism meeting in Brussels as soon as possible in accordance with the consensus reached at the 25th China-EU Summit. The two sides also exchanged views on issues such as the EU countervailing case against China's electric vehicles.
On the same day, Wang Ventao met with Dutch Economy Minister Karemans, and the two sides exchanged views on issues such as Anselm Semiconductor.
Wang Wang Tao said that China attaches great importance to Sino-Hong Kong economic and trade cooperation.The relevant measures taken by the Netherlands against Anselm Semiconductor seriously affect the stability of the global supply chain.China urges the Netherlands to start from the general situation of safeguarding the security and stability of the global supply chain, adhere to the spirit of the contract and the rule of law, resolve the problem as soon as possible, protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese investors, and create a fair, transparent and predictable business environment.
Karemans said that the Netherlands attaches great importance to the economic and trade relations between the Netherlands and China and is willing to communicate closely with China to find constructive solutions to the Nexperia issue.
Exclusive texts of this section are not reproduced without authorization.