Biden Finds a Key Ally Wary of His Bid to Outpace China on Chips

The Biden administration wants Seoul onside, but South Korea’s economic ties to China are a strategic imperative that will be hard to shake.

Photographer: Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images

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South Korea has long relied on the U.S. for security and on China for trade, seeking to keep politics out of business to avoid picking sides.

That geopolitical balancing act is becoming increasingly untenable as Washington and Beijing square off over technology.