ExclusiveUS Chipmakers to Produce Chips at TSMC's Arizona Plant

Welcome to China In Focus, I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, President Trump suggesting the Chinese leaders meeting with some Asian countries as an effort to play dirty and go behind Washington's back. This as the Communist Party headquarters trade partners submit escalating trade tensions with the U.S. Another wave of microchip production shifting to the U.S. Two American chip giants have decided to make chips on U.S. soil and work together with a new chip plant in Arizona. That plant owned by Taiwanese chip giant TSMC. When you think about the importance of the supply chain, we need to have a supply chain in all places. And the U.K. is shutting down an alleged Chinese plan. British politicians say a Chinese company intends to close the last British steel factory so that the U.K. would be forced to import the metal from China. Details on the decision to stop it. Before we dive into today's top story, we'd like to share an important update. You can now catch China In Focus on Genjing World every Tuesday instead of YouTube. To watch, simply click the link in the description box down below or search China In Focus at genjingworld.com. President Trump reacting to Chinese leader Xi Jinping's meeting with Vietnam's Communist Party chief. He has urged Vietnam to work with China to oppose what he described as, quote, unilateral bullying. The term is an apparent swipe at the U.S. hiking tariff rates on both Vietnam and China. I don't blame China. I don't blame Vietnam. I don't. I see their meeting today. Is that wonderful? That's a lovely meeting. The meeting like trying to figure out how do we screw the United States of America? To reduce the trade deficit and bring jobs back to the U.S., President Trump imposed various tariff rates on U.S. trade partners. He hiked rates on China to a total of 145 percent after being retaliated. That number also includes earlier tariffs. Washington also imposed a 46 percent tariff on Vietnam. Trump has offered a 90-day pause on tariffs on reciprocal tariffs for most countries except for China. Xi signed over 40 agreements during his visit to Vietnam. China is Vietnam's largest trading partner. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson said the tariffs are not a joke, noting the rates are, quote, big numbers. That's in response to comments from Beijing's commerce minister. Besson said he still has hope for a major trade deal with Beijing, but added it would require a formula far different from trade deals of the past. Beyond the Chinese minister's comment, the Chinese embassy in Argentina also criticized Besson Monday, accusing him of, quote, maliciously slandering China. The remark comes after Besson met with the Argentine president and highlighted the White House administration's economic support for the country. Besson said U.S. officials are trying to help Latin American countries avoid aggressive and potentially harmful aid deals with China. He noted China has signed many such deals with Africa, where Beijing claims mineral rights and traps less-developed countries under huge amounts of debt. Good news for chip manufacturing on U.S. soil. Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, is a leading American company in the microchip design sector. It revealed Tuesday that it's ready to work with an existing chipmaking plant in Arizona. That plant is run by Taiwanese chip giant TSMC, the world's leader in high-end chip production. When construction is finished, it will have three working chip fabricators. One of them is currently operating. TSMC first broke ground on the facility several years ago after an initial investment of over $65 billion. Since then, it has committed to investing $100 billion for three more chip fabricators. Back to Advanced Micro Devices. The company's CEO also announced plans to launch more AI servers in the U.S. Here's what she had to say at a news conference in Taiwan. When you think about the importance of the supply chain, we need to have a supply chain in all places. So certainly Taiwan is very important to us from a supply chain. And also in the United States, we just completed our acquisition of ZT Systems, which is a leading supply chain AI server capability in the United States. So yes, we are also expanding our U.S. capability. AMD, one of the largest providers of personal computer chips, relies mostly on TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker in Taiwan, to make its chips. President Trump said on Sunday that he would be announcing the tariff rate on imported semiconductors this week. He said there would be flexibility with some companies in the sector. In related news, for the first time ever, another microchip giant has now slated to produce AI supercomputers on American soil. American chipmaker NVIDIA will also collaborate with TSMC's plant in Arizona and other partners. Over the next four years, NVIDIA is set to produce AI infrastructure valued at up to half a trillion dollars in the U.S. Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday. His ambition is to strengthen trade relations and cooperate on infrastructure and industry. The trip follows the U.S. decision to impose a 24 percent tariff on goods imported from Malaysia in response to Malaysia's 47 percent tariff on U.S. goods. Malaysia has chosen not to retaliate against the U.S. Instead, it plans on negotiating with Washington to lower the trade restrictions. China's Xi arrived in Malaysia as the trade war continues between the U.S. and China. He is looking to improve relations with Malaysia because the country holds the title of chairman for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year. The organization consists of 10 countries that neighbor China. They play a vital role in the region's politics and trade. China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for the past decade. Malaysia has also been committed to China's Belt and Road Initiative, taking part in several major projects, including an $11.2 billion railway project. The Belt and Road Initiative is China's overseas infrastructure project. It aims to spread China's influence around the world and is often criticized as a debt trap by the West. The U.K. seems to have just crushed one of China's more unusual tactics, used to sell more steel to the U.K. To do it, the U.K. government is taking control of a factory from its Chinese owner. It's the last factory on British soil that makes steel from scratch. British politicians say the factory's Chinese owner intends to shut down the facility, meaning the U.K. would be forced to import steel from China. The shift would help China solve one of its big problems, oversupply of steel. NTD's international correspondent Malcolm Hudson has more from London. Britain is expressing confidence that it can secure enough raw materials to keep the U.K.'s last remaining maker of virgin steel open. This comes after the government last Saturday took operational control of the Scunthorpe Steelworks from the Chinese firm that owns it. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner says the government has paid for the raw materials, such as coking coal and iron ore, to keep the plant's furnaces burning. And that was really important for the future of British Steel and the government stepped in and took the action that was necessary. Yes, there's more that we need to do over the next coming months and years, but this was a crucial step forward for British Steel in the U.K. Scunthorpe is run by British Steel, which itself was bought by the Chinese conglomerate Jingye Group in 2020. If the site fails to get materials, it risks irreparable damage to the plant's systems. Ministers passed an emergency law on Saturday to take control of the plant from Jingye. British Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said at the time they had tried to negotiate with Jingye to keep the plant open. But over the last few days it became clear that the intention of Jingye was to refuse to purchase sufficient raw materials to keep the blast furnaces running. In fact, their intention was to cancel and refuse to pay for existing orders. The company would therefore have irrevocably and unilaterally closed down primary steelmaking at British Steel. He said Jingye had rejected the government's funding proposals and even demanded twice as much money without any commitment to keep the site running. Chair of the Business and Trade Committee Liam Byrne said Jingye was not acting in good faith. It is clear that Jingye was about to move primary steelmaking capability from Scunthorpe back to China and merely use the downstream mills in Scunthorpe. That may have been good for China's economic security, but it is not good for Britain's national security. The Scottish Nationalist Party's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn made a comparison between Scunthorpe and the now-closed Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland. We have a Chinese company in Scunthorpe saying that there's losses of around £700,000. We have a Chinese company in Grangemouth saying losses of around £500,000. All of us need to be conscious of those comparisons. Former Conservative Party leader Ian Duncan Smith said that by pushing to shut down Scunthorpe, Jingye knew the UK would have to buy Chinese steel. This is not a coincidence. This is all part of the plan. This company, by the way, is linked directly to the Chinese Communist Party and it's high time we called this out. The British government said it was not aware of any sabotage at the plant. A spokesperson insisted that officials will take a strategic approach to China when it comes to critical national infrastructure and said investments will be rooted in the UK's national interest. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said two shipments containing iron ore, pellets and coconut coal had docked at a local port with a third on its way. Malcolm Hudson, NTD News, London. Coming up, two major US allies in Asia preparing to talk tariffs with the US. Japan and South Korea are crucial for countering Beijing's aggression. At the same time, the US and South Korea hold a joint drill to counter the North. Democratic Taiwan has never been ruled by communist China. So why did Cambodia just deport a nearly 200 Taiwanese nationals to China to stand trial instead of Taiwan? And the Timothy Plan, an American investment firm, is keeping its business out of mainland China. But it's not because of the ongoing tariff war between the US and China. What's really behind the move? More on that after the break, here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus, I'm Tiffany Meyer. Next, moves from key US allies in Asia are looking to push back against the Chinese communist regime. Japan's chief negotiator for US tariffs is expected to leave for Washington this week. You'll meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Trade Representative Jameson Greer. President Trump initially said he was imposing a 24% reciprocal tariff on Japan. A 90-day pause was announced after that. A 10% universal rate remains in place. Meanwhile in South Korea, the country said today that Seoul will try to delay reciprocal tariffs against the US as much as possible. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant has said the US would sit down with South Korea to discuss the tariffs. Asia's fourth largest economy was hit with 25% reciprocal US tariffs, which have since been paused. South Korea's trade and industry minister may travel to Washington next week for further talks. The US and South Korea held a joint drill on Tuesday, flexing their military muscles to deter North Korean aggression. The war games come days after the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to resist as the US leads a push to eliminate the North's nuclear program. Self-governed Taiwan has never been under the control of China's communist regime. So why did Cambodia just deport a group of Taiwanese nationals to China to stand criminal trial instead of Taiwan? Taiwan's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the government was still trying to ascertain exactly how many Taiwanese have been deported from Cambodia to China on fraud charges. Cambodia reportedly arrested 180 Taiwanese people on suspicion of involvement in telecom fraud. They were included in a total of 190 people sent to China by Cambodia this week. That total also included Chinese nationals. We are still negotiating with the prosecutors to ascertain how many citizens involved in the case. The government will find out more information through existing cross-strait mechanism. The foreign ministry again calls on our nationals not to take a chance and go overseas to engage in unlawful activities, including telecoms fraud and break local law. It will be the end of your personal future. It will also ruin our nation's image. Like most countries, Cambodia only has formal diplomatic ties with Beijing. But given its strong ties to the Chinese communist regime, Cambodia stands out in Southeast Asia as one of the few countries without a de facto Taiwanese embassy. The Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan a Chinese province, despite never having ruled the island. A look now to one company that has fully divested from China, the Timothy Plan, an investment firm focused on biblically responsible investing. The Timothy Plan says it's keeping its business out of China. But it's not for an economic or monetary reason, despite trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Instead, it's out of a sense of moral responsibility. NTD's Fiona Di spoke to Art Ali, the founder and president of the Timothy Plan, to find out more. Art Ali, the founder and president of the Timothy Plan. Art, thank you so much for being here today. Let's talk about this choice that your company made to divest from China. Because, I mean, the Timothy Plan, I think you could say, was ahead of the curve when it came to taking in business investment out of China. But I mean, the current U.S.-China trade war, although you're likely to be saved economically in the long run, but that's not the reason why you divested. Well, it's really not. I mean, everybody understands that China is absolutely not our friend. And, you know, a communist regime, economically even, will never, ever, ever succeed. But Timothy Plan, from inception, would not invest in companies that are owned by the government. And we kind of said, you know what, they do have some private companies there, and maybe we can invest in them. But then came to the conclusion, you know what, when you're in a communist country, they run everything. They own everything. They control everything. So we totally divested, and that's been a while ago. My friends on Wall Street, on the other hand, they weren't so anxious to do that. They thought kind of a China-first policy, almost, in their investing. But we would not do it. Just, you know, it's who we are. The Timothy Plan is a biblically responsible mutual fund family. That's what we do. Yes. Art, tell us more about these individuals or other companies that you worked with. What was their response when you said you were going to divest from China completely? Well, actually, all of our funds are managed by top-tier money management firms, and our international manager, who also manages our Israel fund that we have, they're the ones that make the decisions subject to our restrictions, our screening, worldwide. And they were fine. They were fine with us not owning anything in China. For a while, China looked like kind of the economic breadbasket of the world. But like I said, in a communist regime, it can never last. It can never work, never has in the history of the world. And China is on a very weak foundation economically right now. It's just a system that cannot work. You start looking at the evil that they perpetrate over there, from slave labor to organ harvesting to, I mean, absolutely coming down on Christian churches. You've got to hide out if you're a Christian there. China is not our friend. It is not a place we want to be. And we told our manager, we don't care whether it's privately owned or government owned company, we will not invest in China. And for the foreseeable future, we are going to stay with that lie. Despite all of the human rights atrocities from the Chinese Communist Party, it is unfortunate to admit that they do exert a lot of economic control, if you will, in the international sphere right now. So what kind of challenges did your company face when it was trying to divest from China? Zero. I mean, it's a big world. You don't have to own companies in China. I wish my peers on Wall Street would agree with that. And some of them are starting to come around. I'm not sure I believe them exactly. But, you know, we have a great international fund that invests worldwide. You just don't have to own companies in China. And, you know, even if you had to, why would you? Why would you want to support or invest in or be a part of any regime that is pursuing that kind of an unholy, evil agenda? For Timothy Plan, we won't, we don't, we will not own any Chinese companies. And Art, to your point there, China, or at least the Chinese Communist Party, it has a history of human rights abuses, whether, as you mentioned, their live organ harvesting or religious persecution, including against Falun Gong, Christians, Muslims. It's all very well documented as well. What advice would you give to others who currently have investments or are considering getting investments in China? Well, you know, years ago, my daddy told me, son, it's always about the money. They think they can make a profit by investing in China. I guess. Well, eventually, you're not going to make a profit. And for lowering any sense of moral values to invest in a regime like that is insanity. So my advice would be get out of China. If you take the money out of China, things might change. But the regime has to change. You cannot invest in a communist-run country and expect to get good long-term results from your investments. It just doesn't work. It can't work. So what you're saying, I think, can be summarized as no amount of monetary gain is worth the moral loss. I couldn't have said it better. That's exactly right. At what price do you compromise? At what price? You know, we don't do it at Timothy Plant. Absolutely. Now, Art, before we go here, what kind of changes are you hoping to see on a wider scale across different industries when it comes to these moral, ethical practices? Well, actually, we're starting to see some. The pendulum is beginning to swing back. You know, it's not just the administration saying no more DEI stuff in the government. These companies are waking up that have been pursuing a DEI woke agenda, to the fact that it is absolutely not in the best interest of the company or its shareholders to be pursuing these kinds of things that are so antithetical to running a good, profitable business. That's why people invest in companies. And so we're seeing more and more and more companies starting to walk away from that. I guess it's a great wake up call. But, you know, some of those that are walking away, they fail some of our other screens as well. I mean, we will not own companies, if I can just say this, that are involved in abortion, pornography, anti-family entertainment, LGBTQ++ agendas. And we're not being judgmental to anybody. We just won't own companies that are absolutely involved in that stuff because it's unbiblical. We are a biblically responsible mutual fund family. Well, Art, I think no matter who you are, what you do out there, it's important to stick to your values. Art Alley, thank you so much for joining us today. My pleasure. Thank you. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocusandtd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For around the clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.