Apple chipmaker TSMC has a warning on Taiwan-China war – Times of India

Apple chipmaker TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd) Chair Mark Liu has an important warning on the ongoing China-US tensions that is threatening to turn into a full-blown Taiwan-China war. In an interview to CNN recently, Liu said that the Taiwan-China war would make everybody losers. “The war brings no winners, everybody’s losers,” Liu said.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has fueled a fresh escalation in tensions between Washington and Beijing. China views the visit by Pelosi, a long-time critic of Beijing, as sending an encouraging signal to the pro-independence camp in Taiwan and has repeatedly warned against it.
In the interview, Liu said that if Taiwan is invaded by China, the chipmaker’s plant would not be able to operate because it relies on global supply chains. “Nobody can control TSMC by force. If you take a military force or invasion, you will render the TSMC factory not operable,” reportedly Liu said. Going in detail, Liu added, “Because this is such a sophisticated manufacturing facility, it depends on real-time connection with the outside world, with Europe, with Japan, with the US, from materials to chemicals to spare parts to engineering software and diagnosis.”
TSMC is the one of the world’s most advanced chip manufacturers with over 50% of the world’s semiconductor foundry market. It makes processors for several US companies with Apple and Qualcomm being two of its biggest customers. TSMC manufactures Apple’s A-series and M-series chips.
Home to biggest chip makers
Taiwan is home to the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of semiconductors, TSMC and peer United Microelectronics Corp.