Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday for a visit focused on semiconductors, the critical chips that are used in everyday electronics and have become a battleground in the technology competition between the U.S. and China.Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday hailed economic and educational cooperation with Taiwan, marked by a $12 billion investment in his state by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., in the latest of a series of visits by U.S.
Arizona is also home to a base that trains Taiwan’s F-16 fighter pilots who are a major part in the island’s defenses against a threatened Chinese blockade or invasion. Arizona also plans to open a state representative office in Taipei and the sides have inked an agreement on cooperation in higher education. The TSMC investment is expected to create 2,000 jobs in Arizona, with the company taking numerous future workers for training in Taiwan.
Neither Tsai or Ducey directly mentioned China, although in her remarks, the president indicated current events were driving expanded economic links between the sides. "This would help build more secure and more resilient supply chains. We look forward to jointly producing democracy chips to safeguard the interests of our democratic partners and create greater prosperity," she said.
$12 billion & all we got was some ugly rusty used useless shipping containers. azcentral MSNBC CNN