On December 17, local time, Jose W. Fernandez, Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Affairs of the U.S. State Department, said at the 6th Korea-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) at the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul that South Korea’s global semiconductor supply The chain is an indispensable partner of the United States, and I believe South Korea will contribute more to the global economy.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Fernandez said that South Korea has world-class semiconductor industry technicians, high-quality products, and transparent investment. The cooperation between the United States and South Korea is expected to create great value. During the conference, the United States constantly emphasized the important role of South Korean companies in the global semiconductor supply chain to "contain China". He called on South Korea to play a greater role in establishing a resilient semiconductor supply chain because the United States is trying to solve the problem of chip shortages as competition with China intensifies.

According to the report, South Korean Foreign Ministry officials stated that most of the issues discussed by the two sides that day were part of a move led by the United States to counter China’s growing economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Choi Jong-moon, the second official (deputy foreign minister) of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that current scientific and technological issues are increasingly closely related to security and geopolitics.

At the meeting that day, the United States and South Korea conducted extensive discussions on semiconductor and other supply chain restructuring, infrastructure construction, vaccine and health cooperation and other topics, and decided to cooperate in the fields of semiconductors, power batteries, and core minerals to build a stable supply chain. The two sides also formulated detailed projects and implementation plans for joint investment in the infrastructure of third countries, especially those in Southeast Asia. The two parties also decided to strengthen cooperation in 5G, 6G communication quantum, biology and other core emerging technology fields, and focus their efforts to control the export of related technologies.

During the visit, Fernandez also met with industry leaders in the semiconductor, battery, biological, and construction fields, including senior executives from South Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., LG Energy Solutions Co., Ltd., and Doosan Group, to discuss their investment in the United States and other matters.