Taiwan says US-led ‘Chip 4’ group discussed supply chain resilience

TAIPEI, Sept 30 (Reuters) – The United States has convened the first meeting of a working group of East Asian countries to discuss how to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain, a a Taiwanese official said on Friday, after a two-year global flea crisis.

The semiconductor shortage, which has forced some automakers to halt production, has thrust Taiwan into the limelight and made supply chain management a higher priority for governments around the world.

“We exchanged views in an initial preliminary meeting and hope everyone can discuss how to collaborate in the future on supply chain issues like the ones we recently encountered,” said Taiwanese Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua Wang told reporters in Taipei.

The preliminary working group meeting – which has been dubbed “Chip 4” – also involved representatives from South Korea and Japan.

The group’s member countries are home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (2330.TW), South Korean memory chip giants Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and SK Hynix (000660 .KS), and Japan’s leading suppliers of semiconductor materials and equipment.

Last month, President Tsai Ing-wen told visiting U.S. lawmakers that Taiwan is committed to ensuring partners have a reliable supply of semiconductors, or “democratic chips,” and urged allies to step up collaboration. in the face of escalating Chinese threats.

China claims democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory. The Taiwan government rejects China’s sovereignty claims.

The American Institute in Taiwan, its de facto U.S. embassy, ​​hosted the U.S.-East Asia Semiconductor Supply Chain Resilience Task Force virtual meeting, a spokesperson said. speak to Reuters.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said the country’s top representative in Taiwan attended the meeting on Wednesday.

Kyung Kye-hyun, who heads up Samsung’s chip business, said earlier this month that his company raised concerns about the proposed Chip 4 alliance, including the need for South Korea to research China’s understanding before any negotiation.

Reporting by Sarah Wu; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Jan Harvey

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