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Morris Chang shared his views about the US-China relations and its implications on semiconductor chip manufacturing. According to him, the US-China decoupling is slowing down the progress in the semiconductor chip manufacturing space.
“I think that decoupling will ultimately slow down everybody. Of course, the immediate purpose is to slow China down, and I think it’s doing that. I’m specifically talking about chips,” said Chang.
Current situation in semiconductor chip manufacturing
China considers Taiwan to be an “integral part” of its sovereign territory and commits to take it under mainland China, at any cost. This particular possibility poses a threat to the global supply chain for semiconductor chips.
TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) fabricates chips that power most smartphones and computers you use. For example, TSMC fabricates chips for Apple, Qualcomm, AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel. Most of the semiconductor manufacturing companies today are fabless and TSMC is the fabricator for their chips.
The US is subsidizing TSMC with billions to build their fabrication lab. In the US and shift the supply chain from the potential threat of China. One of the two factories in Arizona that are under development, will reportedly start production of the most advanced 3nm chips by 2026.
Morris Chang on US-China decoupling and its implications
“It looks like countries are mad at each other, and that worries me,” said Chang.
The US has further restricted the export of chips and chip manufacturing equipment to China. This has likely happened in response to China’s SMIC somehow fabricating the 7nm Kirin 9000s chip entirely in-house, enabling 5G in the Huawei Mate 60 Pro. The US government probably didn’t expect it to happen.
“Ultimately, I think it will be harmful to everybody,” said TSMC’s founder. He added that semiconductor chip manufacturing is no longer about globalization or free trade. According to his observations, it’s now viewed as a matter of national security. However, the development will lose its pace as a result of the US-China decoupling, he considers.
Morris is considered one of the most valuable figures in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, and his views are likely significant. Nonetheless, we’ll have to see where the silent semiconductor battle between the existing power (the US) and emerging power (China) leads.