San Francisco (AFP) – The talks held this week between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, together with the agreement to restore military communications, will improve stability in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei’s main delegate at the summit said on Friday. of APEC.
First modification: 11/18/2023 – 14:35
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“I really think it was a good meeting, it was good news that they resumed military communications,” said Morris Chang, who is in San Francisco, United States, as Taiwan’s envoy to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC). .
“I think it should help reduce tension between the United States and China, and it should increase the stability of the Taiwan Strait,” Chang told reporters.
The 92-year-old envoy is the founder of the semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
China claims the island of Taiwan, a key point of tension between Washington and Beijing, as its own territory and has intensified military pressure against its autonomous government in recent years.
Chang also said that he had not held talks with Xi this week, although he had held talks with US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vice President Kamala Harris.
He also held informal talks with Biden.
However, he expressed support for restrictions on US exports aimed at preventing China’s access to advanced chips, key to the development of next-generation artificial intelligence and weapons technology.
“At least in chips, free trade is almost dead,” he said.
Regarding U.S. efforts to boost its own semiconductor industry, Chang noted that for the United States to create a facility like TSMC is “an impossible matter in the short term.”
© 2023 AFP
