TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan has not been told about a meeting for a new U.S.-led group of major microchip manufacturers, the economy ministry said, adding that the island has always cooperated closely with the United States on supply chains.
South Korea’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Seoul is expected to attend a preliminary meeting for the so-called “Chip 4” group.
In a statement to Reuters late on Thursday, Taiwan’s economy ministry said “our side does not yet have any relevant information on a notice about the meeting”.
“In past exchanges and dialogue between Taiwan and the United States, the United States did propose similar ideas, but there was no specific content at the time,” it added.
Taiwan and the United States have always cooperated on supply chain resilience and industrial cooperation, and are important partners, the ministry said.
“If there are follow-up developments in the meetings reported by the media, the government will pay close attention.”
It did not elaborate.
Taiwan is a major semiconductor producer and home to the world’s largest contract chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), a major Apple Inc supplier.
Taiwan has been keen to show the United States, its most important international backer at a time of rising military tensions between Taipei and Beijing, that it is a reliable friend and supplier as a global chip crunch affects auto production and consumer electronics.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
