Taiwan says it has not been informed of 'Chip 4' meeting
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Taiwan has not been informed about a 'Chip 4' meeting that would include South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
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Semiconductor chips are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration picture taken February 25, 2022. (Photo: Reuters)
Taiwan said on Friday it has not been informed about a so-called 'Chip 4' meeting that would include it, South Korea, the United States, and Japan, adding that the island has always cooperated closely with the US on supply chains.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said this week that Seoul expects to attend the US-led preliminary meeting of the four chip manufacturing nations.
The meeting comes amid a global chip shortage that started with the outbreak of the pandemic two years ago and on the heels of a new US law this month called the Chips Act that includes $52 billion in subsidies for firms that produce chips or conduct chip research in the US.
The Biden administration has sought deeper collaboration with South Korea and Japan to become more competitive with China's science and technology.
The timing and location of the Chip 4 meeting have not yet been decided, according to a South Korean official who declined to be identified and was not permitted to speak to the media.
Taiwan's economy ministry told Reuters late on Thursday it did not have any relevant information yet.
"In past exchanges and dialogue between Taiwan and the United States, the United States did propose similar ideas, but there was no specific content at the time," it added.
The island has been keen to prove to the United States, its most important international supporter at a time military tensions between Taipei and Beijing were rising, that it is a dependable friend and semiconductor supplier.
Read: China calls on US to halt official contact with Taiwan
Due to the global microchip shortage, the US economy lost last year $240 billion. The US relies on one single supplier, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
TSMC makes more than 90% of the world’s most developed microchips, as per the Capital Economics research group, and the company’s market share is only likely to expand. TSMC executives in a July earnings call projected 30% growth this year, which would put total annual revenue well over $70 billion.
US tech giants like Intel, Apple, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Broadcom, and AMD all depend on TSMC, while the US government depends on it for some of the most complex systems.
