By Eduardo Baptista and Toby Sterling

Dutch Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma begins a three-day trade mission to China on Tuesday set against the backdrop of tensions over semiconductor companies Nexperia and ASML EURONEXT:ASML.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that Sjoerdsma would visit Beijing and Shanghai over July 7-9 with a business delegation representing 17 Dutch companies active in the logistics, agriculture and high-tech sectors among others.

The trip marks the first time since April 2018 that a Dutch minister has led a trade mission to China in person, the ministry said.

RAISING POINTS OF CONCERN

"Over the past few decades, we've built robust trade ties with China and our goal with this visit is to further strengthen our bilateral trade relationship," Sjoerdsma said in the ministry statement.

"Raising points of concern is part of that."

Sjoerdsma is due to meet Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Beijing on Tuesday for bilateral talks covering economic issues and the broader Netherlands-China relationship.

The two sides are also expected to convene the Joint Economic Committee, a ministerial-level forum aimed at deepening bilateral economic ties. It last met online in 2020.

Meanwhile, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia, owned by China's Wingtech Technology SSE:600745, remains locked in a dispute with its Chinese parent over control and governance.

The fight has become a test case for Europe's handling of Chinese ownership in strategic technology. Nexperia is a global supplier of mature-node chips used in cars, industrial equipment and consumer electronics.

The trade mission also sharpens the focus on ASML, the Netherlands' most strategically important chip company and the dominant global supplier of advanced lithography systems.

Sjoerdsma travelled to Washington last month to discuss proposed U.S. legislation that could bring a further tightening of restrictions on chipmaking equipment sales and servicing for China, affecting ASML's bottom line.

Dutch officials have argued that export controls should be coordinated internationally rather than imposed unilaterally in ways that disproportionately affect Dutch companies.

China, meanwhile, has said the restrictions harm global supply chains and discriminate against Chinese companies.

After Beijing, Sjoerdsma travels to Shanghai, where he is expected to meet the city's vice mayor and visit Chinese and Dutch companies.