Follow South China Morning Post, the United States and the territory of Taiwan have agreed to establish a new framework to promote investment and strengthen cooperation in key technology areas such as semiconductors. The move is sure to anger China, as it recently called on the US to end official contact with Taiwanese officials.
During the first virtual meeting between US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Taiwan’s economic agency chief Wang Mei-hua, both sides agreed to establish a Technology Trade and Investment Cooperation (TTIC) framework. ). The technology-focused framework will allow the two sides to “develop trade programs and explore actions to strengthen critical supply chains” while boosting investment in the US.
Although China was not named directly, closer coordination between the US and Taiwan on semiconductor policy could impact Beijing, as Chinese tech companies now rely heavily on Taiwanese chip manufacturers to make advanced chips, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC).
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Closer US-Taiwan coordination on semiconductor policy could impact China |
TSMC’s compliance with US sanctions against Huawei Technologies has dealt a heavy blow to the Chinese telecom giant’s smartphone business. In addition, TSMC’s decision to be willing to provide supply chain data to the US government also added to Beijing’s insecurity, which state media Xinhua called part of a “plot” by Washington to restrain China’s semiconductor development.
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Last month, the US and Taiwan held their second annual economic dialogue, focusing on outstanding issues, including supply chain resilience, the digital economy, and 5G network security. , and Beijing’s alleged economic coercion. Before the event, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian asked the US to stop official contact with Taiwanese government officials.
The latest deal between Washington and Taipei comes at a time when the US is trying to bolster its domestic chip industry. The government’s generous incentives have attracted the world’s leading chip manufacturers such as TSMC and Samsung Electronics to build new chip factories in the US. TSMC is currently building an advanced 5-nanometer manufacturing facility in Arizona at a cost of $12 billion. Samsung last month agreed to invest in a new $17 billion chip factory in Texas. However, a $52 billion bill to provide federal funding for new semiconductor plants is stalled in Congress.
Wang Mei-hua told the media on December 7 that the TTIC framework will allow closer cooperation between the US and Taiwan in the fields of 5G, electric vehicles and semiconductors, areas where China also wants to lead. . Ms. Wang said technology exports from Taiwan to the US had increased amid the US-China trade war, including sensitive information and telecommunications products.
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