China's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday that a U.S. order to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to halt shipments of advanced chips to some Chinese customers - as reported by Reuters - proved that the United States was "playing the Taiwan card" to raise tensions in the Taiwan Straits.

“Since Taiwan has related regulation to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently,” said Kuo, according to a report in the Taipei Times. “Although TSMC plans to make 2-nanometer chips [abroad] in the future, its core technology will stay in Taiwan.”