DONGGUAN, China (Reuters) -A factory next to a weed-ridden lot in China’s industrial south has become a global choke point for automotive chips, upending a sector that just a few years ago swore it wouldn’t be caught again by supply-chain disruptions.

Automakers vowed to strengthen supply lines after COVID-19 snarled semiconductor output in 2020 and a Japanese factory fire aggravated the shortage a year later. But the crisis engulfing Dutch chipmaker Nexperia’s plant exposed a blind spot: The industry never envisioned low-tech chips would become a lever for China against the West.

“No one prepared for geopolitical disruption, and they’re still not prepared,” said Ambrose Conroy, CEO of U.S. firm Seraph Consulting, which advises automakers.

The Dutch government took control of Netherland

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