Washington and Beijing want to ease the tensions that have existed for some years between the two countries at the technological level. As explained by the South China Morning Post for that, the United States and the China have decided to to create a working group on semiconductors whose objective will be to consider better supply. This group will meet every six months to keep abreast of the latest technological advances.
A working group to mitigate the shortage of semiconductors
The China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA), a state-supported association of 774 Chinese chip companies, said Thursday, March 11, that a working group has been set up with U.S. companies to ease tensions and join forces. A channel of communication will therefore be possible from now on on on issues such as export controls or supply chain security.
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Several analysts have been saying for a few days that Joe Biden could ease some trade restrictions against Chinese companies. The creation of this working group goes precisely in the same direction. The new American president will try to renew good trade relations with his rival China. Perhaps he will even undo the restrictions imposed by the previous government… For the moment, the objective is above all to mitigate the global shortage of semiconductors.
Supporting signs for the Sino-US relationship
The CSIA states that: “this working group aims to promote deeper mutual understanding and trust between the Chinese and U.S. semiconductor industries, in order to solve problems through dialogue and cooperation.”. The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), CSIA’s Washington-based counterpart, obviously agrees with this decision. A dozen experts from each of the two countries will meet every six months to keep each other informed of Beijing and Washington’s policies on technology and trade restrictions.
According to William Deng, an analyst at UBS in Hong Kong: “the creation of this working group could help improve communication in the semiconductor value chain in China and the United States.” Even if U.S. restrictions remain (for now), better communication between the two countries should help mitigate disruptions to the semiconductor supply chain.
An announcement made just hours after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced a meeting next week in Alaska with China’s top foreign policy official Yang Jiechi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. According to Antony Blinken: “China is the only country that has the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system. Our relationship with China will be competitive when it must be, collaborative when it can be, and confrontational when it must be.”.
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