Taiwan’s exports of integrated circuit (IC) chips last year rose for a seventh consecutive year, further solidifying the nation’s leadership status in a global semiconductor industry that has been roiled by US-China tensions and diversifying supply chains.
Exports of IC chips — which are pivotal components of electronic appliances, computers and smartphones — rose 18.4 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Finance said.
It was also the third consecutive year of double-digit percentage growth.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
“We believe Taiwan is irreplaceable in the near-term in the semiconductor industry,” Barclays PLC economist Bum Ki Son said in an e-mail to Bloomberg News.
Barclays said efforts by others, such as the US, to bolster chip production would not immediately have an effect on diminishing Taiwan’s importance.
Taiwan’s significance in the industry rests on the output of giants such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which has more than half of the market share in global semiconductor manufacturing, Son said — especially in the manufacturing of the world’s most cutting-edge chips.
Global sales of semiconductors have driven exports for Taiwan during a time when global trade has been under immense pressure from a worldwide drop-off in demand.
Also keeping Taiwan important to places such as the US are TSMC’s investment decisions, such as its landmark facility in Arizona, its first advanced chip plant in the US.
Son said the future of diversification in the industry would depend on where semiconductor fabrication plants are constructed.
Son cited potential plans for TSMC to build plants in Singapore and Japan, a recent Intel Corp investment in Vietnam, and India plans by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) and Vedanta Resources Ltd as moves that might have lasting implications for the industry.
The outlook in the medium and long term is thus more “fluid, especially as US-China trade conflicts as well as COVID continue to underscore the vulnerability of concentrated supply chains,” Son said.
On top of the obvious risks of a direct conflict between superpowers, there is an economic dimension to the standoff. As home to the world’s largest chip maker, TSMC, Taiwan is critical to all kinds of global supply chains. Even an escalation short of war, such as a Chinese blockade, could set off a colossal domino effect.
A Chinese move against Taiwan, and the likely Western response, “is a contingency that everyone is planning for,” Institute of International Finance chief executive Tim Adams said.
“Every single firm is gaming out what those sanctions would look like, and who would be an ally to the US,” he said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS