Europe and China’s Feud Over Chips Is Reaching a Breaking Point

A spat over technology transfers has split a Dutch chipmaker in two and triggered a race for survival.

Nexperia’s headquarters in Nijmegen, Netherlands. The Dutch chipmaker is at the center of a fight over technology with China.

Photographer: Lina Selg/Bloomberg

An effort by Europe to stand up to China and retain local technology is approaching a breaking point.

In a fight over a critical link in the global supply chain, chipmaker Nexperia BV was wrested away from its Chinese owner by a Dutch court and now one of the leaders in so-called legacy chips is racing to defend its independence. If the Nijmegen-based company is successful, Europe would hold on to valuable semiconductor manufacturing expertise and hand the region a rare victory over China.