The "chip war" launched by the United States has put both South Korea and the Netherlands under control. Now, South Korea and the Netherlands have joined forces to form a "semiconductor alliance". It can be said that South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has learned to use his strength this time.
Yoon Suk-yeol recently arrived in the Netherlands for a four-day state visit. The visit focused on the global semiconductor supply chain, seeking to bridge South Korea's technology gap and increase the country's in-house production capacity for semiconductor equipment with the help of the Netherlands.
The key itinerary of this visit is Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to the Dutch company ASML. ASML is the only manufacturer in the world that can supply EUV lithography machines for chips of 7nm and below. Through this partnership, South Korea is expected to secure a stable supply of semiconductors and increase its independence in the field of semiconductor production.
Therefore, it is also considered to be an important moment in the establishment of the "semiconductor alliance" relationship between South Korea and the Netherlands. Senior officials in South Korea's presidential office said this could be the first time the South Korean government has announced a "semiconductor alliance" with a specific country.
Yoon Suk-yeol visits the Netherlands
Against the backdrop of tensions in the semiconductor supply chain, cooperation between South Korea and the Netherlands in the field of semiconductors is of considerable strategic importance. For South Korea, this cooperation plan is not only to stabilize the semiconductor supply chain, but also to ensure South Korea's strategic position in the semiconductor field.
The "chip war" launched by the United States has tightened the global supply of chips, and the manufacturing cost has soared, the entire market has fallen into chaos, and the economic losses have been extremely heavy. Although many Western semiconductor companies have temporarily compromised under the coercion and inducement of the United States, as time goes by, the returns are getting lower and lower, and the attractiveness of the Chinese market has not diminished.
In this context, the United States urgently needs to establish an "independent" supply chain system, in the words of the Americans themselves, called "based on the premise of the same values", to create a new supply chain.
The United States originally wanted to use the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" to "replace" China with ASEAN. Theoretically, ASEAN is rich in resources, has a large population, low production costs, and is in a period of rapid development, with great potential. But in the more than a year since the framework was established, little substantive progress has been observed.
On the one hand, the United States is reluctant to concede benefits to ASEAN, ASEAN lacks motivation, and ASEAN is not really a whole, and there are many obstacles to the promotion of cooperation, and there is competition between member countries.
On the other hand, ASEAN member states generally lack perfect infrastructure, the government's execution is relatively low, many industrial projects cannot be carried out at all, and the most current undertaking is only assembly work, and the efficiency and yield rate are quite unstable.
Manufacturing in Southeast Asia
Therefore, the United States has continued to woo South Korea and Japan this year, especially South Korea, another basic manufacturing power in East Asia, and Biden also personally visited Samsung's factory, obviously wanting South Korea to have another "Han River miracle" and become a "bridgehead" for a new industrial chain.
In South Korea's view, the "high hopes" of the United States are an opportunity for a resurgence. The Yoon Suk-yeol government has a "great power" feeling, and since coming to power, the diplomatic offensive has been very fierce, traveling all over the eastern and western hemispheres, whether it is in the military field or the commercial field, and has frequently made moves.
It is not difficult to see that the purpose of the Yoon Suk-yeol government's cooperation with the Netherlands is to "leverage its strength" and expand its influence with the help of the Netherlands' strength and the influence of the United States, which is indeed a good hand.
Biden visits Samsung's factory
The problem, however, is that South Korea's industrial capacity and conditions are limited, and even if South Korea receives technical support, it will only be able to temporarily compensate for some of the production capacity needed by the United States.
Therefore, the current approach of the Yoon Suk-yeol government seems grandiose, but it will take time to prove how effective it will be.
Of course, this also shows that the Yoon Suk-yeol government does not want to be passive and controlled by others. At present, South Korea really needs to seek innovation and change.