Biden pokes fun: President will warn China to stop aggressive tactics in South China Sea, announces $6.6 billion CHIP investment for Taiwan, days after calling Xi
President Joe Biden is doubling down on his criticism of China, warning the country to stop its aggressive tactics in the South China Sea as he offers Taiwan a $6.6 billion investment to help the country build microchips.
Biden will discuss Beijing’s activities toward its neighbors in Asia this week during summits with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He spoke last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In addition, his government is investing in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company so it can expand existing plans for two factories in Phoenix and adding a third, recently announced manufacturing hub in Arizona.
His moves come as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin talks about the economy during visits to Guangzhou and Beijing, where she also tastes Sichuan dumplings, Peking duck and the local beer.
President Joe Biden is meeting with Japanese and Philippine leaders this week to discuss countering Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) spoke on the phone last week
Biden will host the first-ever summit of U.S., Japanese and Philippine leaders this week, along with a state dinner for Japan’s prime minister, as he seeks to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Defense issues will rise to the top of the agenda as both Japan and the Philippines worry about Beijing’s moves toward territory they claim. China claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety.
Kishida will discuss how Chinese coast guard ships regularly approach disputed Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea near Taiwan.
And Marcos Jr. is concerned about the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef disputed in the Spratly Islands.
China’s coast guard has deployed water cannons to prevent the Philippines from supplying marines stationed on the Sierra Madre, a rusting ship that Manila deliberately grounded on the reef in 1999 to bolster its claims in the region.
Japan has sold coastal radars to the Philippines and is negotiating a defense deal allowing their forces to visit each other’s territories for joint military exercises.
Meanwhile, Biden is using his CHIPS and Science Act to revive US semiconductor manufacturing after the Covid pandemic resulted in a shortage of microchips, which are used in many household items
The Biden administration has pledged tens of billions of dollars to support the construction of U.S. chip foundries and reduce dependence on Asian suppliers, which Washington sees as a security weakness.
“Semiconductors — those tiny chips smaller than the tip of your finger — power everything from smartphones to cars to satellites and weapons systems,” Biden said in a statement.
“TSMC’s renewed commitment to the United States and its investment in Arizona represent a broader story for American-made semiconductor manufacturing with strong support from America’s leading technology companies to build the products we rely on every day.” ‘
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (right) and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns taste beer at Jing-A Brewery in Beijing
Chinese Coast Guard ships fire water cannons at a Philippine supply ship Unaizah on May 4 en route to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing produces nearly all of the world’s leading microchips and plans to eventually do so in the US
It began building its first factory in Phoenix in 2021 and last year began building a second hub, with the company increasing its total investment in both projects to $40 billion.
The third facility should produce microchips by the end of the decade and will see the company’s commitment increase to a total of $65 billion, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in announcing the latest tranche of money.
The investments would put the US on track to produce roughly 20% of the world’s most advanced chips by 2030, and Raimondo said they should help create 6,000 manufacturing jobs and 20,000 jobs in the construction, as well as thousands of new jobs that are more indirectly linked. to various suppliers in chip-related industries associated with projects in Arizona.
Possible incentives announced Monday include $50 million to help train Arizona’s workforce so they are better equipped to work in the new facilities. In addition, approximately $5 billion in proposed loans would be available through the CHIPS and Science Act.
The announcement came that Yellin is in China.
Senior administration officials were asked whether the Biden administration had given China an edge on upcoming investments, given the delicate geopolitics surrounding Taiwan. The officials said only that their focus in making Monday’s announcement was solely on promoting U.S. manufacturing.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center, waves, with his wife Yuko, leaving Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Monday as they departed for the US
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visits Guozijian Hutong Alley in Beijing
Yellin was in China to talk about what she calls China’s overproduction of solar products, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries, which she warns will threaten global economic stability if left unchecked.
She was a noted foodie and many of her meetings focused on meals.
On Monday evening, her last evening in China, Yellen visited Jing-A Brewing Co. in Beijing – co-founded by an American – where she ordered a Flying Fist IPA, a beer made with American hops.
She took a sip and called it “excellent.”