China Extends Hand to Korea After US Conflict: "Let's Cooperate on Semiconductor Supply Chain"

Meeting between Andeokgeun, Director General of Trade Negotiations, and Wang Wentao, Executive Vice Minister

As China expels the US memory semiconductor company Micron from its domestic market amid escalating US-China tensions, China has proposed dialogue and cooperation with South Korea on semiconductor supply chain issues.

According to the official WeChat channel of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on the 27th, Ahn Duk-geun, Director General of Trade Negotiations at South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of China, met at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Trade Ministers' Meeting held in Detroit, USA, to discuss the semiconductor industry network and supply chain stability.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated, "Both sides agreed to strengthen dialogue and cooperation in the semiconductor industry network and supply chain sectors." This marks a decision by ministerial-level trade officials from South Korea and China, who met on the sidelines of the APEC meeting, to engage in dialogue and cooperation on semiconductor supply chain issues.

According to the Chinese announcement, Director General Ahn said, "The importance of economic and trade relations between South Korea and China has continuously strengthened in recent years," adding, "The close cooperative relationship between the two countries has played a crucial role in ensuring the stable and smooth flow of the global supply chain."

Furthermore, Director General Ahn expressed, "South Korea wishes to deepen economic and trade cooperation between the two countries and expand areas of cooperation under regional and multilateral frameworks," according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

Minister Wang Wentao stated, "Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-South Korea economic and trade relations have deepened and developed," and added, "China's high-level opening-up will provide new opportunities to countries around the world, including South Korea."

He further elaborated, "China hopes to work with South Korea to deepen bilateral trade and investment cooperation, safeguard the stability of industrial and supply chains, and elevate cooperation at bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels of economic and trade collaboration to a new level."

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

This meeting came after foreign media reports that US authorities requested Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix not to replace Micron's position, and following official mentions of South Korea in the US Congress demanding that South Korea not fill the gap left by Micron.

Earlier, on the 21st, Chinese authorities imposed their first sanctions on a US semiconductor company, stating that "(Micron products) have serious network security issues" and that "operators of critical information infrastructure should stop purchasing Micron products."

Industry analysts suggest that this Chinese measure could intensify US-China conflicts and potentially harm other companies as well.

Micron, the largest US memory company and the world's third-largest memory manufacturer after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, had about 11% of its total sales from China last year, which is larger than Qualcomm's 60% and Intel, AMD, and Nvidia's 20% range. Foreign media view the ban on Micron products as a pilot case targeting the least affected company, indicating that this measure is only a prelude.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.