Nexperia owner demands control back after Dutch interference

The Chinese owner of chipmaker Nexperia, Wingtech, wants the Dutch government to reverse its takeover of the company after Minister Vincent Karremans took control on September 30. According to Wingtech, this is “unprecedented” and the company wants the measure reversed. The company wrote this in a statement sent to the NOS today. The Chinese government is now blocking the export of Nexperia chips, which threatens to lead to major chip shortages, especially for the German automotive industry.

The Dutch government intervened at Nexperia because the Chinese director, Zhang Xuezheng, secretly moved ‘production capacity, financial resources, and intellectual property rights’ abroad. This was considered an ‘acute and serious threat’ to chip production in the Netherlands and Europe. Minister Karremans activated the 1952 Goods Availability Act for this purpose. This law had never been used before. The act enables the government to reverse decisions and effectively place the company under state supervision for a period of one year. The Ministry of Economic Affairs had already been involved in developments within Nexperia for some time, after receiving alarming signals from other directors. These directors went to court on October 1, 2025. The judge suspended Zhang Xuezheng with immediate effect.

Accusations and Reactions

Wingtech accuses the Netherlands of acting on behalf of the United States to hinder China, but the ministry denies this and states that the decision was made to protect European chip production and knowledge. According to Dutch officials, Zhang used production recipes from the Nexperia factory in Manchester without permission and had Nexperia place large orders with his own chip factory. Nexperia China has sent a letter to employees stating that they no longer need to follow instructions from the Dutch headquarters. Nexperia China accuses “certain individuals from foreign governments and Nexperia Netherlands” of causing chaos. Wingtech warns that “a Nexperia without its Chinese divisions is doomed,” as it would lose the majority of its chip production, which Europe cannot compensate for in the short term.

The role of Zhang Xuezheng (‘Wing’)

Zhang Xuezheng, also known as ‘Wing’, is the man behind Wingtech, the Chinese company that acquired Nexperia in 2019. He was suspended this month for misconduct and has repeatedly broken rules. In 2024, Wing was fined 8 million renminbi (€970,000) by the Chinese stock market regulator CSRC for concealing transactions on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and secretly collaborating with two other shareholders to control Wingtech Technology. In 2005, Wing was sentenced to 17 months in prison for stealing trade secrets from his previous employer, network company ZTE, and was fined 50,000 renminbi. European directors of Nexperia were unaware or only partially aware of the history of their Chinese owner.

Attempts to circumvent regulations and internal conflicts

In August 2025, Wing reportedly placed unauthorized Chinese proxies in key positions at Nexperia, contrary to agreements that Nexperia, although Chinese-owned, would have a more European management team in order to circumvent US export restrictions. He also attempted to use Nexperia's money to prop up one of his other companies, chipmaker WingSkySemi in Shanghai, with fake orders worth $120 million. Alarmed Nexperia directors reported this to the Ministry of Economic Affairs in September 2025, leading to Dutch government intervention and Wing's suspension by the Enterprise Chamber on October 6, 2025. Wing attempted to restructure Wingtech's management structure, including changes at the top of Nexperia, in an attempt to circumvent US export restrictions.