Preliminary
On October 21, the Dutch government revealed that it "will seek to meet with China to discuss resolving the Ansei Semiconductor deadlock," but Europe gave up. Not only did Germany and France not condemn the Netherlands for its actions, but instead supported its targeted actions against China.
China is no longer soft-hearted and has made a demand!
Changes in Anshi Semiconductor
Behind this negotiation requirement is the Dutch government's forced takeover of Anselm Semiconductor under Thai Technology.
As a world-renowned semiconductor enterprise, Anselmo occupies an important position in the field of automotive chips, and the chips it produces are widely used in the European automotive industry.
However, on the grounds of "national security", the Dutch government brazenly implemented a compulsory administrative takeover of Nexperia, frozen its assets, and dismissed the Chinese management team.
This behavior not only seriously infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, but also puts the European automobile industry in trouble.
You should know that Axis Semiconductor plays a key role in the European automotive chip supply chain. This move by the Dutch government has put European auto companies at risk of chip supply shortages, disrupted production plans and significantly increased costs.
Many European automakers have said their production would be severely impacted, and could even face a crisis of production shutdowns, if they don’t solve the issue of Anselm Semiconductors as soon as possible.
Rare earth export control conflicts
As the world’s largest producer and exporter of rare earth, China has always provided a stable supply of rare earth to the world.
However, in recent years, with changes in the international situation and considerations for national security and industrial chain stability, China has implemented stricter control measures on rare earth exports.
This policy adjustment aims to protect domestic rare earth resources and promote the sustainable development of the rare earth industry. It is also a necessary measure to deal with external pressure.
However, this has caused dissatisfaction in some EU countries.
They believe that China’s rare-earth export controls will affect the development of their high-tech industries, especially in companies that are highly dependent on rare-earth in new energy, electronics and other fields.
Countries such as Germany and France have chosen to support the Netherlands on the issue of rare-earth disputes between the Netherlands and China, trying to force China to make concessions on rare-earth exports by means of collective pressure.
Attitudes of the parties
The Dutch attitude in this incident can be described as twists and turns.
At first, the Dutch government was tough when it took over Anselm Semiconductor and did not take into account the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and the stability of the European industrial chain.
They seem to be fearless, thinking that with the support of some external forces, they can do whatever they want.
But the Netherlands soon suffered.
Stagnation in semiconductor production has plagued many companies in Europe that rely on their chip supplies, and the Dutch economy itself.
Related industries in the Netherlands are facing enormous survival pressures as supply chains break down and many enterprises face reduced orders and even risk bankruptcy.
Under such circumstances, the Netherlands began to seek negotiations with China in an attempt to ease tensions.
Germany is also trying to play the role of "peacemaker" in this dispute.
The domestic automotive industry in Germany is highly dependent on the chips of Anselm Semiconductors, and the Dutch behavior has caused huge losses to German enterprises.
Many German automakers have had their production plans disrupted and have had to face high costs and declining capacity.
Germany is also well aware of the importance of maintaining good economic and trade relations with China.
China is an important trading partner of Germany, and German automobiles, machinery and other products have broad sales space in the China market.
For its own economic interests, Germany is also trying to find a balance between China and the Netherlands and solve problems at the lowest cost, so as to continue to maintain its dominant position in the European economy.
France has made a tough gesture in this incident, firmly supporting the Netherlands, and meaningfully confronting China.
France may want to take this opportunity to show its leadership within Europe and enhance its voice in the EU.
Some French companies have significant interests in the Chinese market in a fight that could cause them to lose Chinese market share, thereby affecting France’s economic growth.
Faced with the joint pressure of the three countries, China has not retreated.
China has made it clear that negotiations are possible, but one critical condition must be met: The Netherlands must immediately stop the illegal takeover of the Anselm Semiconductor, restore the normal operation of the enterprise, and apologize to Chinese companies.
The proposal fully reflects China's firm determination to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its own enterprises, and also shows that China adheres to the principles of equality, respect and mutual benefit and win-win in international economic and trade cooperation.
China will not make any concessions on issues of sovereignty and interests, and any attempt to force China to compromise through pressure will be responded resolutely.
At the same time, China stressed that the export control policy on rare earth issues is based on the need for national security and sustainable development and is reasonably legitimate.
China is willing to discuss rare-earth cooperation with other countries on the basis of equal consultation, but will never allow any country to interfere in China's internal affairs and shake a finger on China's policies.
China's attitude not only shows the responsibility of a big country, but also shows its tough stance of safeguarding national interests, and makes the world see China's determination to firmly follow its own path in international affairs, not to be easily influenced.
This incident has undoubtedly cast a shadow on China-EU relations.
The originally close economic and trade cooperation relationship fell into tension due to the reckless behavior of the Netherlands and the erroneous support of Germany and France.
This not only impacts the mutual trust between China and the EU, but also adds a lot of uncertainty to the future cooperation between the two sides.
Therefore, Europe needs to make wise choices to work with China to promote the prosperity and development of the global economy.
China will continue to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, demonstrate its responsibility as a major country on the international economic and trade arena, and contribute to building a fair, just and reasonable international economic order.
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