Wingtech sues Nexperia in Chinese court over Dutch government’s semiconductor seizure

Wingtech Technology has filed a lawsuit against its own subsidiary, Nexperia, in a Chinese court. The case, lodged at the Dongguan Intermediate People’s Court, seeks at least 8 billion yuan, roughly $1.1 billion, in damages. It is the first major legal challenge to a European government’s forced seizure of a Chinese-owned chipmaker.

The dispute centres on the Dutch government’s decision in October 2025 to take control of Nexperia, a semiconductor manufacturer based in Nijmegen that Wingtech acquired in 2019. The Netherlands invoked its Goods Availability Act, a Cold War-era law from 1952, citing “serious governance shortcomings” and threats to European economic security. Wingtech’s chairman was immediately suspended from all Nexperia board roles.

The seizure was the first time a European government had forcibly taken control of a Chinese-owned technology company. The Netherlands said Nexperia’s high-volume chip production, which supplies automotive, consumer electronics, and industrial customers across Europe, was too strategically important to leave under Chinese governance.

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Wingtech is now arguing that the seizure violated its rights as a shareholder and investor. The lawsuit invokes China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, a 2021 statute designed to give Chinese entities legal tools to fight back against what Beijing considers discriminatory foreign actions. If the court rules in Wingtech’s favour, it could set a precedent for how Chinese companies respond to Western semiconductor restrictions.

The filing in Dongguan is strategically significant. Chinese courts have no jurisdiction over the Dutch government, but they could order remedies against Nexperia’s operations inside China. That matters because Nexperia still relies on Chinese factories for a portion of its chip production.

China has already retaliated through regulatory channels. After the Dutch seizure, Beijing blocked Nexperia from exporting chips manufactured at its Chinese facilities, cutting the company off from part of its own supply chain. Nexperia responded by locking in wafer production capacity with local suppliers for 2026 and accelerating verification of wafers from Wingtech’s foundry, Wingsky Semi.

The financial damage has been severe on both sides. Wingtech’s net loss widened to 8.7 billion yuan in 2025, driven in part by the loss of control over Nexperia. The company has also said it would pursue a separate claim under the China-Netherlands bilateral investment treaty if it cannot regain control through the courts.

The case arrives at a moment when semiconductor supply chains have become a primary front in the broader technology contest between China and Western governments. The United States has pushed the Netherlands and Japan to tighten export controls on chip-making equipment, particularly targeting ASML, the Dutch lithography giant whose machines are essential to advanced chip manufacturing.

Washington’s pressure played a role in the Nexperia seizure. Bloomberg reported that the US had demanded the removal of Wingtech’s Chinese CEO from Nexperia before the Dutch government acted. The Netherlands has denied that the decision was made at American direction, framing it instead as a sovereign economic security measure.

For the European semiconductor industry, the outcome matters beyond this single company. Nexperia employs thousands of people across Europe and produces billions of chips annually. If Beijing’s retaliatory measures succeed in disrupting supply, European manufacturers who depend on those components will feel the consequences.

The lawsuit also tests whether China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law has practical teeth outside Chinese borders. Legal scholars have debated the statute’s reach since its passage. A ruling in Wingtech’s favour would not compel the Dutch government to reverse course, but it could create complications for any Nexperia assets or operations within Chinese jurisdiction.

Wingtech has framed its case as a defence of shareholder rights. The Dutch government has framed its intervention as a defence of European technological sovereignty. Both arguments reflect a reality in which chip supply chains are no longer governed purely by commercial logic. The Dongguan court’s decision will not resolve the broader contest, but it will signal how far Chinese legal institutions are willing to go in pushing back.