China condemns U.S. trade deal draining Taiwan’s economy

China is pissed off over the new trade deal between Taiwan and the United States. Officials in Beijing say Donald Trump’s team is draining Taiwan’s economy while pretending it’s some big win for both sides. They’re not buying it.

The deal, signed last week, cuts U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese exports down to 15%. In return, Taiwan is throwing in half a trillion dollars. That’s $250 billion in direct investment into U.S. tech and chip factories, and another $250 billion in credit support for its own companies expanding in America.

Peng Qingen from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office didn’t hold back. On Wednesday, he said the deal would “only drain Taiwan’s economic interests,” and slammed Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, for letting the U.S. “hollow out” the island’s most important industries.

That was his exact quote. Peng also said the DPP was selling out local jobs just to help the U.S. boost its tech sector.

Taiwan funds chip expansion as U.S. slashes tariffs

The deal gives Taiwan a few perks. It gets higher quotas to ship chips to the U.S. without tariffs. It also gets full waivers on generic drugs, airplane parts, and raw materials that the U.S. doesn’t produce itself.

In return, the DPP promised $250 billion in new projects inside the U.S., from chip fabrication to artificial intelligence labs. Another $250 billion in credit is being handed out by Taiwan’s government to help companies expand production abroad.

Howard Lutnick, Trump’s Commerce Secretary, told CNBC on Thursday the U.S. wants 40% of Taiwan’s chip supply chain to be built out in America. He didn’t say how fast or which parts, but that was the target. It’s a massive goal.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is already building in Arizona. They’ve pledged $165 billion to build fabs and an R&D center. That’s just the start. Reports say they might add another four to six plants, which would take the total above ten.

Taiwan’s vice premier, Cheng Li-chiun, responded to Lutnick’s comment by saying the U.S. chip plan isn’t just about Taiwan. “Other countries and American firms are part of this too,” she said. She made it clear Taiwan isn’t giving away its top tech. The most advanced nodes will stay in Taiwan.

China warns of economic sabotage and blasts DPP

Beijing says this whole thing is a trap. They accuse the U.S. of trying to use Taiwan as a tool to hold back China.

Peng said labor costs for TSMC’s U.S. factories are more than double what they are at home. He said pushing Taiwanese companies to build expensive plants in America just to create “so-called high-paying jobs for Americans” is a strategy that will destroy Taiwan’s own tech foundation.

Last week, Beijing said it “firmly opposed” any agreement between Taiwan and countries that have diplomatic ties with China. They also told Washington to stick to the one-China principle.

Xi Jinping still says unification with Taiwan is “a historical inevitability.” Taiwan isn’t having it. The government there has always rejected China’s claim.

Right now, Taiwan still dominates global chip manufacturing. TSMC alone makes most of the world’s advanced chips.

Almost one-third of the world’s new computing power is estimated to come from Taiwan. That’s why Trump’s team is going all-in. They want to lock Taiwan deeper into the U.S. economy while China steps up political and military pressure on the island.

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