A few days ago a major controversy arose that directly affected TSMC, and that was caused by a sensationalist headline in a Chinese newspaper. In his article, said outlet accused the Taiwanese giant of “being fooled” by the United States to build chip factories in Arizona to “steal your Taiwan’s technology.”
That article said some very serious things. On the one hand, it puts on the table that China regards Taiwan as its own, and in the broadest sense of the idea of possession. On the other hand, it also highlights the importance that semiconductors have acquired and the fact that they consider that the TSMC technology associated with it is “theirs” (from China).
We might think that this is a simple tabloid article from a medium that just wants to attract attention, but we already know how the press works in China and tight government control over it, so it is clear that this article and all its sensationalism were not a fluke, and that its background is more important than it seems because it is reflecting how the Chinese government feels.
Taiwan’s Minister of Economy Weng Mei-hua has tried to calm things down by saying that TSMC is not an American semiconductor producerand that the rumors that were generated around this issue are not only baseless, but were invented by mainland China to create controversy and destabilize relations between Taiwan and the United States.
Regarding the TSMC semiconductor factory that will be installed in Arizona, it is considered as one more step towards internationalization of the company, as an important move for its growth and to reinforce its leadership in the sector, but it has nothing to do with an “Americanization” of the company, nor with a move away from its roots in Taiwan.
This plant will play a very important role in the future of TSMC, since it will be used to manufacture chips under the N4 node in the United States from 2024, and in 2026 the leap will be made to the manufacture of 3 nm. Its facilities in Asia already manufacture in 3nm, so this region will maintain technological leadership despite the opening of these factories. The giant hopes to make the jump to the 2nm node in 2025, and this will only be manufactured in its facilities in Taiwan, at least during its early stages.
