Nexperia’s assets worth $318M frozen by Chinese court amid control dispute

A court in Dongguan, China, has frozen approximately 2.14 billion yuan (roughly $318 million) in assets belonging to Dutch chipmaker Nexperia B.V. and its equipment branch ITEC B.V. The order came after Wingtech Technology, Nexperia’s Chinese parent company, filed a property preservation application as part of a sprawling legal fight over who actually controls the semiconductor firm.

The freeze covers Nexperia’s stakes in four subsidiaries based in China, including operational units in Wuxi and Shanghai, plus one ITEC subsidiary in Wuxi. It’s effective from August 2026 through August 2029.

A parent company suing its own subsidiary

The dispute traces back to late September and early October 2025, when US export control concerns surfaced related to Wingtech’s placement on the Entity List. That designation triggered Dutch authorities to impose restrictions on how Wingtech could exercise control over Nexperia, a company headquartered in the Netherlands. The Dutch government employed emergency powers under the Goods Availability Act, resulting in legal actions that saw a Dutch court suspend CEO Zhang Xuezheng and transfer voting rights management to an independent trustee.

In May 2026, Wingtech escalated by filing a lawsuit seeking 8 billion yuan in damages. The company cited Dutch discriminatory restrictions and invoked China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, a piece of legislation Beijing enacted in 2021 specifically to counter foreign sanctions and restrictions that affect Chinese entities. The 2.14 billion yuan asset freeze is the first concrete judicial action to come out of that filing.

The financial toll on Wingtech

This isn’t just a legal headache for Wingtech. It’s a financial one. The company reported a 2025 net loss of 8.7 billion yuan, with the control restrictions imposed on Nexperia cited as a contributing factor.

Nexperia, for its part, has pushed back on the narrative that the freeze threatens its business. The Dutch chipmaker insists the asset freeze does not hinder its operations, management, or business continuity.

Semiconductors as geopolitical chess pieces

Wingtech’s use of China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law is notable because it represents one of the first high-profile attempts to weaponize that legislation in a concrete commercial dispute. The law gives Chinese courts jurisdiction to freeze assets and award damages when foreign sanctions or restrictions harm Chinese entities.

The 8 billion yuan damages claim that Wingtech has filed dwarfs the current asset freeze. The governance split between European and Chinese operations has already caused supply chain disruptions in critical automotive semiconductor sectors.