China's Ministry of Commerce
Chinese government ministry overseeing trade policy, led by Minister Wang Wentao.
China's Ministry of Commerce is Beijing's trade policy body, which on 16 July 2026 called for the Nexperia dispute with the Netherlands to be resolved through consultation rather than confrontation.
Last refreshed: 26 July 2026
Why is China's commerce ministry pushing the Netherlands to resolve the Nexperia standoff?
Timeline for China's Ministry of Commerce
Issued the statement on the Nexperia dispute
European Tech Sovereignty: Beijing urges Dutch talks to settle Nexperia disputeBackground
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) is the government body responsible for the country's trade policy, led by Minister Wang Wentao, and it regularly issues public statements on China's trade relations with the US and EU. It is the ministry that manages Beijing's response to foreign intervention in Chinese-owned firms abroad and to friction over semiconductor supply chains.
On 16 July 2026 the ministry, through spokesperson He Yadong, called for the Nexperia/Wingtech dispute with the Netherlands to be resolved through consultation, after Wang met Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sjoerd Sjoerdsma in Beijing and both sides agreed to help firms resolve the standoff through negotiation .
The ministry's handling of the Nexperia standoff sits within the wider context of technological sovereignty disputes now playing out across Europe, the US and China, making it a central actor in how Beijing manages such friction going forward.