The founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., who represented the island at an Asia-Pacific economic summit, said Friday the sit-down this week between the presidents of the United States and China was a “good meeting” that he hopes will help ease regional tensions.
Morris Chang, founder of chip giant TSMC, also said he had informal interactions with U.S. President Joe Biden and other high-ranking officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in San Francisco but not with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“I really think it was a good meeting and it was good news that they resumed the military communications,” Chang said at a press conference at the close of the APEC summit. “It should help reduce the tension between the United States and China, and it should increase the stability of the Taiwan Strait.”
Morris Chang, the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., speaks at a press conference in San Francisco on Nov. 17, 2023. (Kyodo)
During his conversation with Blinken, Chang said, he had conveyed Taiwan’s “strong desire for regional peace and prosperity” as well as its “very strong desire for increasing the supply chain resilience.”
On Wednesday, Biden and Xi held an in-person meeting for the first time in a year at a historic estate near San Francisco. One of the major outcomes announced after about four hours of discussions between them was the reopening of high-level military-to-military communication channels.
Biden told a press conference he and Xi also agreed that they would pick up the phone to each other if an urgent need arises, adding that the United States will continue to compete vigorously with China, but the two countries will “manage that competition responsibly so it doesn’t veer into conflict or accidental conflict.”
China regards Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island as part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary.
China cut high-level military channels with the United States in protest following a visit in August last year by then U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
But even before that, tensions surrounding Taiwan were high. China has intensified military activities around the strait especially since Taiwan’s independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016.
Chang attended the APEC summit on behalf of Tsai as Taiwan is a full member of the forum involving 20 other Pacific Rim “economies” rather than countries — including Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. China is strongly opposed to Taiwan’s official participation in events abroad and tries to curb its international contacts.
When asked about his conversation with Biden, the 92-year-old founder said Wednesday that it was “social” and “in fact I might say, humorous (in) nature.”
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