Biden opens Asia trip with global issues and tech on agenda – News-Herald
By AAMER MADHANI and JOSH BOAK
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea — President Joe Biden on Friday opened his Asia trip by highlighting the computer chip shortage that has bedeviled the world economy, touring a Samsung computer chip plant that will serve as model for a $17 billion semiconductor factory the Korean electronics company plans to open in Texas.
The Samsung visit was a nod to one of Biden’s key domestic priorities: increasing the supply of computer chips. A semiconductor shortage last year hurt the availability of autos, kitchen appliances and other goods, causing higher inflation worldwide and crippling Biden’s public approval among U.S. voters.
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. The president noted that the Texas plant would add 3,000 jobs and the…
