By Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING (Reuters) -China has granted exemptions to export controls on Nexperia chips for civilian applications, the commerce ministry said on Sunday in a move that will help to relieve supply shortages for carmakers and automotive suppliers.

The announcement is the strongest signal yet from Beijing that it will ease pressure on the global auto industry caused by export curbs imposed after the Dutch government took control of Nexperia, a large manufacturer of basic chips used in automotive electrical systems.

Nexperia is based in the Netherlands but owned by Chinese company Wingtech.

China’s commerce ministry did not specify what it considered to be civilian use, but its announcement follows statements from German and Japanese companies saying that deliveries of Nexp

See Full Page