Korea Takes Cautious Stance between US and China Amid Intensifying Chip War
Key Highlights :
The world's two largest economies, the United States and China, have been engaged in an intensifying chip war, and Korea has been taking a cautious stance between the two countries. Last weekend, Minister for Trade Ahn Duk-geun participated in a series of trade ministerial meetings in Detroit, in an apparent attempt to avoid provoking either country.
Following the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers' meeting from Thursday to Friday, the Korean government issued a press release which does not mention its semiconductor industry cooperation with China. This release came after the Chinese government claimed that the two countries' trade ministers discussed this issue during their meeting.
Although the Chinese commerce ministry claimed that the ministers agreed to enhance talks and cooperation in the semiconductor sector, a Korean trade ministry official said that China had only mentioned the necessity of such cooperation, without reaching an agreement with Korea. Industry officials interpret Beijing's unilateral announcement as part of its efforts to attract the Korean chipmakers, amid China's conflict with the U.S. over semiconductor supply chains.
Last Tuesday, the Korean government also denied a report that it gave the green light to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to fill the void left by China's ban on U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology, in the situation where U.S. Congress is urging Korea not to take advantage of the situation. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo also renewed criticism at China, saying that the U.S. "won't tolerate" the ban and that the country is working closely with allies including Korea to address such "economic coercion."
She made the remarks after Saturday's ministerial meeting of the members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in Detroit. The U.S.-led IPEF is basically aimed at containing the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Following Saturday's ministerial meeting, the framework's 14 members including Korea announced the substantial conclusion of the negotiations on a first-of-its-kind international IPEF Supply Chain Agreement.
They agreed to improve crisis coordination and response to supply chain disruptions and work together to support the timely delivery of affected goods during a crisis. They also decided to establish the Supply Chain Council to facilitate cooperation among the IPEF partners on supply chain issues. However, the agreement by the IPEF members, most of which rely heavily on trade with China, did not include terms such as "decoupling" or "derisking," which could provoke China. The Korean government also emphasized the agreement does not include elements that could draw a backlash from China.
Korea's cautious stance between the U.S. and China is an attempt to protect its own interests while avoiding provoking either country. The country's trade ministry is working to maintain close ties with China, while also strengthening its ties with the U.S. and other IPEF partners. This is an important step in ensuring the stability of the global supply chain and avoiding further escalation of the chip war between the two countries.
