Apple chipmaker TSMC says Taiwan-China war would make everyone losers

If China were to invade Taiwan, the world’s most advanced chip factory would be rendered “non-operational”, TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said in an English-language interview with CNN this week.

In the undated interview, Liu said if Taiwan were invaded by China, the chipmaker’s factory would not be able to operate because it relies on global supply chains.

“No one can control TSMC by force. If you take military force or an invasion, you will render the TSMC factory unusable,” Liu said. “Because this is such a sophisticated manufacturing facility, it depends on a real-time connection with the outside world, with Europe, with Japan, with the United States, from materials to products. chemicals, spare parts, engineering software and diagnostics.”

TSMC, the world’s most advanced chipmaker, manufactures processors for US companies such as Apple and Qualcomm. It manufactures Apple’s A and M series chips and has more than 50% of the global semiconductor foundry market.

The remarks were released as tensions between China and Taiwan have escalated in recent days as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits the island.

“War has no winners, everyone loses,” Liu said.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Chips and Science Act, which provides billions of dollars in incentives to build chip factories on US soil. President Biden is expected to sign the bill on Tuesday.

Proponents of the legislation say it is essential for national security to ensure the supply of efficient, modern chips for US use should China invade or make it harder to manufacture chips in Taiwan.

While much of the bill’s incentives will go to US companies like Intel, TSMC is building a $12 billion chip factory in Arizona that could benefit from the subsidies.

Liu compared a potential conflict in Taiwan to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying that while the two conflicts are very different, the economic impact on other countries would be similar. He encouraged political leaders to try to avoid war.

“The war in Ukraine is not good for either side, these are lose-lose-lose scenarios,” Liu said.

Liu said an invasion of the territory would cause economic turmoil for China, Taiwan and Western countries. He said TSMC sells chips to Chinese consumer-facing companies that need the company’s services and supply of advanced computer chips.

“How can we avoid war? How can we ensure that the engine of the world economy keeps humming, and have fair competition,” Liu said.