Seoul, May 20 (AFP\/APP): President Joe Biden has arrived in South Korea on his first Asia trip as US leader, aiming to cement economic and security ties with regional allies despite growing fears of a North Korean nuclear test.<\/p>\n
His first stop on Friday was a massive Samsung semiconductor factory, where he received a warm welcome from South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol, with global supply chain issues topping the agenda.<\/p>\n
Biden, in his first remarks since arriving in South Korea at the start of a trip meant to demonstrate US resolve to lead in Asia, said the two countries’ alliance was “a lynchpin of peace, stability and prosperity” in the world.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the factory in Pyeongtaek alongside Yoon, Biden described the advanced semiconductors manufactured there as “a wonder of innovation” and crucial to the global economy.<\/p>\n
The tiny, smart wafers “enable our modern lives” and are “the key to propelling us into the next era of humanity’s technological development”, he added.<\/p>\n
Semiconductors — the microchips essential to most modern devices from phones to cars and high-tech weapons — are at the heart of a global supply chain slowdown that threatens to disrupt the world’s post-Covid economic recovery.<\/p>\n
South Korea and the United States need to work to “keep our supply chains resilient, reliable and secure”, Biden said.<\/p>\n
“Putin’s brutal, unprovoked war in Ukraine has further spotlighted the need to secure our critical supply chain,” he said.<\/p>\n
The United States needs to ensure “our economic and our national security are not dependent on countries that don’t share our values,” he added.<\/p>\n
Biden and Yoon are to hold talks and give a press conference in Seoul on Saturday before attending a state dinner.<\/p>\n
– Don’t forget to vote –<\/p>\n
For the US leader, whose Democratic Party fears a possible trouncing in midterm elections in November, the issue is also an acute domestic political challenge, with Americans increasingly frustrated over rising prices and stuttering economic reopening.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the speech, Biden toured the huge Samsung plant, taking in lengthy presentations from staff clad in hazmat suits on the equipment used to produce semiconductors.<\/p>\n
After a briefing from a US representative from a California company working with Samsung, Biden quipped: “Don’t forget to vote, Peter”.<\/p>\n
Samsung employs about 20,000 people within the United States and work is underway to build a new semiconductor plant in Texas, opening in 2024.<\/p>\n
South Korea is a semiconductor powerhouse, supplying about 70 percent of chips globally, Yoon said in his speech, asking Biden to take a “special interest” in South Korean chip firms.<\/p>\n
Biden’s visit could help the two allies forge a new “economic and security alliance based on advanced technology and supply-chain cooperation”, Yoon said.<\/p>\n
Semiconductors are now “something akin to a strategic commodity”, Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, told AFP.<\/p>\n
China is trying to reduce reliance on US-influenced Dutch and Taiwanese suppliers, and the United States is trying to rebuild its domestic industry, he said.<\/p>\n
Biden “needs Samsung’s collaboration in this regard”, he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seoul, May 20 (AFP\/APP): President Joe Biden has arrived in South Korea on his first Asia trip as US leader, aiming to cement economic and security ties with regional allies despite growing fears of a North Korean nuclear test. His first stop on Friday was […]<\/p>\n
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