The earthquake in Taiwan became a litmus test for the resilience of the global microchip supply chain system

On April 2, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had their first phone conversation since the November 2023 summit in California. This conversation took place against the backdrop of the earthquake in Taiwan.

On April 4, Chinese diplomat Geng Shuang thanked the international community for its help after the earthquake in the “Taiwan region” of China. Such statements outraged Taiwan, whose Foreign Ministry immediately spoke out about “China’s shameless use of the Taiwan earthquake to conduct cognitive operations at the international level.”

The recent 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Taiwan was a critical stress test for the global semiconductor industry, highlighting the fragility of the supply chain that is central to the modern digital economy.