O impacto da relação EUA-China na atuação da Coreia do Sul como potência média : o caso dos semicondutores (2017-2024)

Abstract

This work seeks to analyze the impact of tensions between the United States and China on South Korea’s role as a middle power, more specifically in the semiconductor sector. By discussing the theoretical foundation of power in the international system, it aimed to understand the functioning of global value chains and, consequently, the geopolitics of semiconductors. With the delicate position in which South Korea finds itself, maintaining a security alliance with the U.S. while having China as one of its largest trading partners, it is essential to analyze how this dilemma has impacted its actions, considering its position as a middle power. For that, the work conducts a case study of an important period, considering the sino-american rivalry as one of the most significant in recent decades. The period between 2017 and 2024 was analyzed, during which the imposed sanctions escalated significantly, provoking an increase in tensions between the two great powers. It was possible to observe this escalation after China’s determination to achieve its technological autonomy and the enactment of the CHIPS and Science Act, events that impacted the functioning of GVCs and influenced South Korea to take its own actions to survive in this environment, with one of its strategies being the development of the K-CHIPS Act.