The Dutch government is restoring control of chipmaker Nexperia to its Chinese parent company Wingtech, effectively ending a tense six-week standoff between China and the Netherlands, reports BBC News.

The Dutch government had initially assumed control of Nexperia and suspended its CEO Xuezheng Zhang on September 30, citing national security concerns and the alleged mismanagement of assets and funds by Zhang. China retaliated by banning Nexperia's chip exports into Europe, which sparked fears over the possibility of a semiconductor shortage that would have shut down assembly lines across the bloc. 

Following "constructive talks" with China in recent weeks, the Netherlands opted to hand Nexperia back over to Wingtech on November 19, according to an announcement from Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Vincent Karremans.

"We see this as a show of goodwill," Karremans said, noting that the decision was made in "close consultation" with partners in Europe and abroad.

The Dutch government also expressed optimism regarding measures China has already taken to ensure that Europe can continue to be supplied with chips, while EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič called the Netherlands' decision "another key step in stabilizing our strategic chip supply chains."

Nexperia is headquartered in the Netherlands, but roughly three-quarters of its chip output comes from two facilities in China.