Biden starts Asia trip with tech talks on agenda

US President Joe Biden opened his trip to Asia with a focus on the computer chip shortage that has hit the world economy.

He toured a Samsung computer chip plant that will serve as a model for a $17billion semi-conductor factory that the Korean electronics company plans to open in Texas.

The visit was a nod to one of Mr Biden’s key domestic priorities of increasing the supply of computer chips.

A semi-conductor shortage last year affected the availability of cars, kitchen appliances and other goods, causing higher inflation worldwide and crippling Mr Biden’s public approval among US voters.

Mr Biden will grapple with a multitude of foreign policy issues during a five-day visit to South Korea and Japan, but he also crafted an itinerary clearly meant to tend to the concerns of his home audience as well.

Previewing the trip aboard Air Force One, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Samsung’s investment in Texas will mean “good-paying jobs for Americans and, very importantly, it will mean more supply chain resilience”.

Greeting Mr Biden at the plant in South Korea was the country’s new president, Yoon Suk Yeol, and Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong.