According to the retiring founder of Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC, globalisation is taking a backseat to concerns like national security and technological leadership, and U.S.-China relations are more about rivalry than cooperation.

Morris Chang, who founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the largest contract chip manufacturer in the world, claimed that the definition of globalisation has changed to include only those cross-border business transactions that do not jeopardise economic dominance, technological superiority, or national security.

“But can this still be considered globalisation?” Chang said at a business forum in Taipei.

Chang’s remarks follow China’s announcement the previous day that it would restrict exports of several metals commonly used in the semiconductor, communications, and defence industries. This announcement was the latest shot in Beijing and Washington’s trade dispute over access to advanced microchips.

Chang, who at 91 is still a significant voice in the chip industry, claimed that globalisation reached its height in the 2010s and has since begun to decline as the U.S. and China have taken steps to expand their respective domestic chip industries.

He has already proclaimed that the chip industry’s globalisation is dead.

Taiwan refers to TSMC, the most valuable listed firm in Asia, as the “sacred mountain protecting the country” due to its economic significance.

Although TSMC has stated that its most sophisticated production will stay on the island, the business has stepped up its international development in recent years.

The business has been insulated from a larger industry slowdown by its dominance in producing some of the most cutting-edge chips for high-end clients like Apple.

Concerns have been raised about what would happen to the plants that dot Taiwan’s western coast and make the majority of the most cutting-edge chips due to China’s heightened diplomatic and military pressure against Taiwan in recent years.

Beijing regards Taiwan, which is democratically run, as its own territory, a claim that the Taipei government vehemently disputes.

(Adapted from EconomicTimes.com)  

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