TAIPEI: Nobody wants a conflict over Taiwan because no one wants to interrupt the critical global semiconductor supply chain, according to the chairman of leading chipmaker TSMC, who made unusually forthright comments about geopolitics on Thursday (Jul 15). Tensions have escalated surrounding Taiwan in the last year or so as China attempts to press its sovereignty claims, with periodic military maneuvers near the island causing anxiety in Washington and other Western capitals.
The COVID-19 pandemic has already been disruptive enough for the world economy, according to Mark Liu, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, who said on an earnings call that no country wants to see turmoil around Taiwan.
“In terms of a Chinese invasion, let me say that everyone wants a quiet Taiwan Strait. Because it is beneficial to all countries, but also because no one wants to interrupt Taiwan’s semiconductor supply chain.” TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple Inc supplier, is at the center of international attempts to fix chip shortages that have closed auto manufacturing and impacted consumer electronics in some cases. The US government has been pressuring TSMC and other Taiwanese chipmakers to do more to alleviate the chip shortage, which has impacted automakers in particular.
Though it has huge economic interests in both China and the United States and must guarantee it does not run afoul of either government, Asia’s most valuable manufacturing company prefers to keep out of politics.
TSMC, which has a market capitalization of $567 billion, more than double that of chipmaker Intel, announced in May last year that it would build a $12 billion factory in Arizona, a win for the Trump administration in its effort to wrest global tech supply chains back from China as part of a broader trade war.
Geopolitical developments were “more predictable, more rules-based” under the Biden administration, according to Liu.
TSMC struck an agreement this week to import COVID-19 vaccines from BioNTech SE in a joint venture with another Taiwanese tech giant and Apple supplier, Foxconn, in a rare break from its main skill of chipmaking.
Following public outcry over the poor pace of vaccinations and after Taipei accused Beijing for delaying an earlier deal with the German firm, Taiwan’s government allowed the two to negotiate on its behalf. China refutes this claim. Liu expressed his delight at the deal’s completion. “At first, this could have been political, but in the end, we completed the contract and received support from all sides, so I don’t think it was as political in the end; otherwise, this donation would not have been successful.” The vaccines will be provided to the government for distribution whenever they arrive./n
