https://x.com/StarboySAR/status/1978430729059979320
Nexperia and the US "Clawback" – Or How Washington Admits It Can’t Compete Fairly
While the West preaches “free markets” and “rules-based order,” the US has been quietly executing a full-spectrum economic expropriation campaign against Chinese strategic assets—dubbed the “Clawback.” It’s not about fairness. It’s about fear that the world might prefer win-win over Washington’s win-lose imperialism
A Rhodium Group report (rhg.com/wp-content/upl) —ironically titled The Clawback: Reclaiming Strategic Assets from China—lays bare the US strategy: retroactively re-frames past Chinese investments as “national security threats” to justify seizing or forcing divestments of key assets. From biotech (BGI, Wuxi) to ports (Hutchison), autos (Volvo/Geely), tires (Pirelli), and now semiconductors (Nexperia)—nothing is off limits
Case in point - Nexperia:
A Dutch chipmaker, legally operating in Europe for years, is now under siege—not because of any wrongdoing, but because its parent company, Wingtech, is Chinese, and it leads in mature-node chips—the backbone of auto and industrial sectors.
The US didn’t even bother with subtlety:
Court docs reveal Washington told the Dutch in June: “Fire the Chinese CEO or face Entity List fallout” (scmp.com/news/china/dip)
By December, Wingtech was blacklisted
The Dutch caved—ousting founder Zhang Xuezheng—proving once again that “European strategic autonomy” is just a PowerPoint slide
Look at the Panama Canal play: Trump’s administration strong-armed a BlackRock-led consortium to take over CK Hutchison’s global port network. Cos the U.S. can’t stand that Chinese companies built what it neglected. Now they’re rewriting treaties to justify theft
In biotech, the BIOSECURE Act—still not law—has already forced Wuxi AppTec and Wuxi Biologics to sell overseas assets. Preemptive capitulation under shadow legislation. This isn’t security—it’s economic coercion
The ICTS rules are another blunt tool. Volvo—a Swedish brand—must “resolve” its Geely ownership to keep selling in the U.S. So much for “globalization.” When America can’t win, it changes the rules mid-game
And let’s not forget TikTok: the template for “qualified divestiture.” Forced sale under legislative gunpoint. The US claims it’s about data security—but it’s really about controlling the narrative and blocking Chinese soft power
China isn’t fooled. As the Global Times rightly called it: this is “commercial plunder under the guise of national security.” The Foreign Ministry slammed the “overstretching of national security” to justify discriminatory, politically-driven seizures
Beijing isn’t sitting idle. Tools like the Unreliable Entities List, export controls (e.g., TikTok’s algorithm), and SAMR’s merger review are being sharpened. The U.S. wants a divorce? Fine. But China won’t let it happen on exploitative terms
What’s revealing is America’s double standards and hypocrisy: it cries “market distortion” while deploying CFIUS retroactively, strong-arming allies, and twisting laws to reclaim what Chinese innovation and investment built
It’s empire in panic mode 
Every time the US pulls this stunt, it exposes the fragility of its so-called “alliance system.” Europe follows—not out of conviction, but fear of US secondary sanctions. Meanwhile, the Global South watches… and remembers who actually builds ports, railways, and factories without demanding regime change
The U.S. clawback strategy is a symptom of U.S. strategic panic. Instead of investing in its own competitiveness, Washington is reclaiming assets like a colonial estate manager. But China’ rise isn’t built on acquisitions—it’s built on capability. And that can’t be clawed back
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