Taiwan says it discussed semiconductor supply chain resilience with ‘Chip 4’ countries US, South Korea and Japan
- The US convened the preliminary meeting with East Asian countries to address issues related to a chip shortage that has wreaked havoc on supply chains
- President Tsai Ing-wen last month told visiting US lawmakers that Taiwan is committed to ensuring partners have reliable supplies of ‘democracy chips’
The United States convened a preliminary meeting of a working group with East Asian countries to discuss semiconductor supply chain resilience and cooperation, a Taiwan official said on Friday.
“We exchanged views at a first preliminary meeting, and hope everyone can discuss how to collaborate in the future on supply chain problems like the ones we recently encountered,” Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua told reporters in Taipei.
The global chip shortage, which over the past two years has wreaked havoc on supply chains and forced carmakers to halt production, thrust chip powerhouse Taiwan into the spotlight and made supply chain management a bigger priority for governments around the world.
Taiwan president says she looks forward to producing ‘democracy chips’ with US
The preliminary meeting of the working group – which has been dubbed “Chip 4” – also included representatives from South Korea and Japan, Wang said.
President Tsai Ing-wen last month told visiting US lawmakers that Taiwan is committed to ensuring its partners have reliable supplies of semiconductors, or “democracy chips”, and urged allies to boost collaboration amid intensified threats from China.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims.
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South Korea’s foreign ministry said the country’s top representative in Taiwan attended a preliminary meeting of “the US East Asian Semiconductor Supply Chain Resiliency Working Group” on Wednesday, hosted by The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).
AIT, the de facto US embassy in Taiwan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kyung Kye-hyun, who heads Samsung’s chip business, said earlier this month that his company has conveyed concerns about the proposed Chip 4 alliance, including the need for South Korea to seek China’s understanding before any negotiations.
