US topples China as Taiwan’s largest export market due to chips, AI demand

The United States has topped long-time leader China as Taiwan’s main export market for four consecutive months due to a surge in demand for microchip products and AI technology, Taipei’s finance ministry said on Friday.

Self-ruled Taiwan is a microchip-manufacturing powerhouse, churning out the world’s most advanced silicon wafers necessary to power everything from e-vehicles and satellites to fighter jets and increasingly to power AI technology.

For two decades, its top export market has been China which claims Taiwan as part of its territory but December data from Taiwan’s finance ministry shows the United States topping the list for the first time since August 2003.

In December, Taiwan exported $8.49 billion in products to the United States, compared with $8.28bn to mainland China. The trend continued through March, when US exports increased by 65 per cent to $9.11bn, a 6pc jump, while mainland China received $7.99bn.

Those figures exclude Hong Kong, which holds its own status as a customs territory. When combined with mainland tallies, China remains the top destination for Taiwanese goods.

Taiwan’s finance ministry official in the trade division attributed the recent US tilt to the global “reorganisation of electronics and ICT (information and communication technology) supply chains, and the popularity of the AI industry”.

Since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, she has been working to strengthen economic ties with the United States, seeing Washington as a crucial partner as neighbouring China grows increasingly aggressive.

ChatGPT creator OpenAI opened a new office in Tokyo on Monday, the first Asian outpost for the groundbreaking tech company as it aims to ramp up its global expansion.

Thanks to the stratospheric success of its generative tools that can create text, images and even video, OpenAI has become a leader in the artificial intelligence revolution and one of the most significant tech companies in the world.

The Japan office is the latest part of the Microsoftbacked firm’s international push, having already set up bases in London and Dublin.

“We’re excited to be in Japan which has a rich history of people and technology coming together to do more,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement.

“We believe AI will accelerate work by empowering people to be more creative and productive, while also delivering broad value to current and new industries that have yet to be imagined.”

OpenAI said its Japan office would bring it closer to enterprise clients including global auto leader Toyota, tech conglomerate Rakuten and industrial giant Daikin — that are using its products “to automate complex business processes”.

“We chose Tokyo as our first Asian office for its global leadership in technology, culture of service, and a community that embraces innovation,” the company added.

OpenAI also announced a new Japanese-language version of ChatGPT on Monday, and hailed the country as a “key global voice on AI policy”, offering potential solutions to issues such as labour shortages.

The company said its Japan office would also help “accelerate the efforts of local governments, such as Yokosuka City” in their drive to improve the efficiency of public services.