President Biden toured a massive Samsung chip plant as part of a trip meant to send a message of economic security to China and Taiwan.

Pierce Sharpe Producer

Taiwan chip production remains priority as Biden tours Samsung plant

May 20, 2022

Pierce Sharpe Producer

By Pierce Sharpe (Producer), Mahmoud Bennett (Social Media Producer)

U.S. President Joe Biden’s first stop on his inaugural trip to Asia on Friday was a massive Samsung Electronics plant where semiconductor chips are produced. The trip underscores a message of economic security with an eye on China and Taiwan.

“The critical component of how we’ll do that in my view is by working with close partners that do share our values, like the Republic of Korea,” Biden said.

Advanced chips are used for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. More than 75% of global chip production comes from Asia. That’s a possible vulnerability the U.S. hopes to protect against through more domestic production. There’s $52 billion worth of government investment in the sector in a bill being negotiated in Congress.

The risk of Chinese aggression against Taiwan could possibly cut off the flow of high-end computer chips that are needed in the U.S. for military gear as well as consumer goods. The U.S. is already more dependent on Taiwan’s high-end microchips than it was on Middle Eastern oil in decades past, according to a report from a Washington, D.C. think tank released earlier this year.

“These little chips,” Biden said in remarks after he toured the plant, “are the key to propelling us into the next era of humanity’s technological development.”

In terms of chip production, China leads the global pack with a 24% share, followed by Taiwan (21%), South Korea (19%) and Japan (13%). Only 10% of chips are made in the U.S., according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

Biden opened the trip in South Korea and will end in Japan next week. Relations between Japan and South Korea have been at their worst in decades because of disputes over wartime history and trade. The countries’ two new leaders appear willing to heal these rifts, with Biden working in a role to help bring them closer together.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

MAHMOUD BENNETT: PRESIDENT BIDEN IS CONTINUING HIS TOUR OF ASIA – AND HIS FIRST STOP – A SAMSUNG FACTORY IN SOUTH KOREA.

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: “These little chips are the key to propelling us into the next era of humanity’s technological development.”

BENNETT: HE’S TALKING ABOUT COMPUTER CHIPS – THEY’RE ESSENTIAL. SOME EVEN GO SO FAR AS TO CALL THEM THE TOILET PAPER OF MODERN SOCIETY. BUT AS IMPORTANT AS THEY ARE – IT’S NOT SOMETHING THE U.S. IS EXCELLING AT.

75-PERCENT OF GLOBAL PRODUCTION TAKES PLACE IN EAST ASIA, NOTABLY CHINA, SOUTH KOREA, JAPAN…AND *TAIWAN* WHICH SINGLE-HANDEDLY PRODUCES 90 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED CHIPS

BUT TENSIONS ARE HIGH BETWEEN TAIPEI AND BEIJING.

EXPERTS WARN THAT ANY DISRUPTION TO TAIWAN’S CHIP SUPPLY COULD PARALYZE PRODUCTION OF KEY EQUIPMENT, IMPACTING ALMOST EVERYONE IN THE WORLD.

THE WHITE HOUSE INSISTS THAT BIDEN RESPECTS CHINA’S CLAIM TO TAIWAN. BUT THE U.S. DOES MAINTAIN UNOFFICIAL RELATIONS WITH THE ISLAND

BIDEN: “So much of the future of the world is going to be written here, in the Indo Pacific, over the next several decades,”

BENNETT: JAPAN IS BIDEN’S NEXT STOP. FIND OUT WHY THAT NATION PLAYS SUCH AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN OUR NEXT VIDEO