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US-China trade war
EconomyGlobal Economy

ExclusiveDutch semiconductor giants join delegation to China as US pushes chip export curbs: source

The Netherlands has protested Washington’s proposed Match Act, which would further curtail its semiconductor firms’ business in China

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An employee walks past an ASML logo, the Dutch semiconductor equipment giant, at the company’s headquarters in Veldhoven on April 17, 2018. Photo: AFP
Xiaofei Xuin Paris
Representatives from semiconductor giants ASML and NXP will be among the 17 business executives expected to join Dutch Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma on his trip to China in early July – though Nexperia will not be part of the delegation, a source familiar with the planning told the South China Morning Post.

The executives agreed to join on the condition that Sjoerdsma would refrain from raising human rights issues or arms sales to Taiwan, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Many in the Dutch business community had initially hesitated for fear he might bring up politically sensitive topics, the source said.

The matter drew attention after Sjoerdsma’s cabinet colleague for agriculture, Silvio Erkens, told the Dutch talk show WNL op Zondag in May that the trade minister could broach contentious issues during his coming trip.

Sjoerdsma is no stranger to tensions with Beijing. He was previously sanctioned while serving as a member of parliament for criticising alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region – accusations the Chinese government has long denied. In 2022, he also advocated for the Netherlands to sell weapons to Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Nexperia would not join the delegation because it remained entangled in a legal battle with its Chinese owner, WingTech, two sources familiar with the matter told the SCMP on condition of anonymity.

ASML declined to comment when asked if it would join the delegation, while NXP did not immediately reply.

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