Dutch politician in Nexperia dispute cancels December visit to China

AMSTERDAM, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The Netherlands' economic affairs minister said on Tuesday he has canceled a visit to China that he had planned for December, citing scheduling differences.

In a letter to parliament, the minister, Vincent Karremans, said he had made arrangements with China's trade minister to come on short notice if necessary for talks on the fight over chipmaker Nexperia, which has led to supply-chain disruptions in the automotive industry.

In the letter, Karremans published a timeline of events leading up to the Dutch state's move on September 30 to seize control of Nexperia, which prompted China to retaliate by restricting exports of the company's chips. 

The timeline showed the minister first became aware of problems at Nexperia on September 18, when he received information that the company's then-management had "far advanced" plans to move operations to China, which he said posed a threat to Europe's economic security. He decided in principle to intervene on September 25, and informed Britain, Germany, the U.S. and China only after the actual intervention. Karremans will debate with parliament on Thursday.

Nexperia's Chinese parent company, Wingtech, has appealed the state intervention and a related court decision to suspend former CEO Zhang Xuezheng and transfer Nexperia's shares out of Wingtech's control. 

(Reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Editing by Leslie Adler and Matthew Lewis)