The Nexperia Affair – and what it reveals about Europe and China
A never-before-used Dutch emergency law, a suspended Chinese CEO, and a Beijing export ban that nearly stopped Volkswagen’s production line. The Nexperia affair turned an unglamorous chipmaker into the flashpoint of an EU–China struggle over strategic industry. China’s swift retaliation revealed just how fragile Europe’s grip on its own industrial base has become, and how readily economic interdependence is now used as a weapon.