China, Netherlands agree to help firms resolve Nexperia dispute: Chinese spokesman

China and the Netherlands have agreed to create a favorable environment for enterprises to resolve disputes through consultation and safeguard the security and stability of global semiconductor supply and industrial chains, China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

He Yadong, a spokesperson for the ministry, made the remarks at a regular press briefing in response to a question on progress in resolving issues related to Nexperia, a Dutch-headquartered semiconductor firm owned by China's Wingtech.

"Over more than a decade since China and the Netherlands established an open and pragmatic comprehensive cooperative partnership, bilateral economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has continued to deepen. On July 7, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sjoerd Sjoerdsma of the Netherlands visited China, where he and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao co-chaired the 18th session of the China-Netherlands Joint Economic and Trade Committee, holding candid and in-depth exchanges on China-Netherlands and China-EU economic and trade relations. The two sides agreed that their governments should create a favorable environment to help enterprises resolve disputes through consultation and safeguard the security and stability of the global semiconductor supply and industrial chains," he said.

China, Netherlands agree to help firms resolve Nexperia dispute: Chinese spokesman

China's National Meteorological Center on Thursday renewed a yellow alert for high temperatures as parts of the country are set to embrace temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius are forecast across large parts of central and eastern China, including Henan, Anhui, Shanghai and parts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The heat is also expected to affect the Sichuan Basin in southwest China, parts of Jiangxi in east China, Hubei and Hunan in central China, and Xinjiang in the northwest.

Some areas could record temperatures as high as 37 to 39 degrees Celsius. Temperatures in parts of eastern Sichuan, western Chongqing in southwest China, northern Xinjiang and the Turpan Basin may exceed 40 degrees Celsius, the meteorological center said.

The yellow alert is the middle level in the National Meteorological Center's three-tier heat warning system with red being the highest.

The forecaster advised the public to take precautions against heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses. The areas affected by high temperatures in southern China are expected to shrink from Friday.

China renews heat alert as parts of country expect temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius