In recent years, the focus of global scientific and technological competition has gradually shifted to the field of chips, which have become an important symbol of scientific and technological development and national competitiveness. In order to maintain its hegemonic status, the United States has constantly imposed chip restrictions on China and other countries in an attempt to suppress their technological development. However, this approach has not achieved the desired effect, on the contrary, it has stimulated the determination and motivation of China and other countries to accelerate the independent innovation of chips. At the same time that the United States provoked the chip war, Europe also intervened in the war, promulgated the European chip law, and imposed restrictions on markets such as China. The acquisition of Nexperia, a Chinese chip company, in Europe has also been seriously hampered, and the first-instance review took half a year, and now the results of the review are finally in.
As we all know, after Biden set off a wave of chip competition in the United States, many American and Western chip companies have withdrawn from the Chinese mainland market, leaving a large gap in the Chinese market and creating opportunities for the development of China's local chip companies. However, there are still many gaps to be filled in the development of China's chip industry. The purely domestic lithography machine technology could only reach 96 nanometers, and in the case of chip foundry using Western technology, the highest could only reach 12 nanometers, and large-scale production could not be realized. Therefore, in addition to actively conducting independent research and development of chip technology, some Chinese companies also seek to acquire chip technology through the acquisition of foreign companies. Chinese chip companies such as Nexperia have rushed overseas, waving banknotes in search of technological treasures.
However, the United States soon discovered this "loophole" and instructed European countries to obstruct China's chip acquisition. As an ally of the United States in Europe, Britain is naturally willing to play an active role in obstructing the development of China's chip industry. Nexperia's acquisition of the British chip company NWF was still re-examined by the UK after the acquisition results were clarified and put into operation, which ultimately led to the failure of the acquisition. However, this British company was subsequently bought by the United States, becoming part of the "vertical and horizontal" link of the United States. A similar situation has occurred in the Netherlands, where Nexperia has been blocked in its acquisition of European companies time and again. In 2022, Nexperia announced the acquisition of the Dutch company Nowi, but in May this year, the Netherlands announced a review of this. After half a year of evaluation, the Dutch top management announced that it would not block Nexperia's acquisition of Nowi, which can be said to be a mutually acceptable result.
In addition to blocking the acquisition of Chinese chips, some European countries have begun to worry about the dependence of companies on the Chinese market this year, openly calling for "de-risking" and "decoupling and breaking the chain". They also plan to use the EU's previously introduced chip bill to further restrict markets such as China. However, the EU should now be more focused on improving its competitiveness and changing the current market environment, rather than blindly following the US hype of de-risking, regardless of market rules.
Finally, it is important to realize that even if there is turmoil in the European market, they will not be able to really shield the rise of China's IC industry. Just like a decade ago, Europe followed in the footsteps of the United States in anti-dumping PV, but in the end it still could not stop the rise of China's PV industry. Therefore, Europe should be more pragmatic, promote competition through cooperation, and promote the common development of the global chip industry.
In the context of the current global technology competition, the importance of chips is becoming increasingly prominent. In order to maintain its technological hegemony, the United States has continuously restricted the development of chips in China and other countries. However, this approach has not achieved the desired effect, on the contrary, it has stimulated the awareness of independent innovation in the field of chips in countries such as China. Europe has also participated in this chip war, restricting and obstructing China's chip market. The acquisition of Chinese chip company Nexperia in Europe went through a lengthy review process and finally achieved a positive result in the Netherlands. However, some European countries are concerned about the dependence on the Chinese market and are trying to limit the influence of the Chinese market by introducing a chip law and decoupling policies. However, in any case, Europe cannot really stop the rise of China's chip industry. As an important participant in the development of the global chip industry, Europe should focus on enhancing its competitiveness, promoting win-win cooperation, and promoting the prosperity and development of the global chip industry.