Taipei: At a time of heightened cross-strait tensions and semiconductor chip shortage, Taiwan's TSMC on Tuesday discussed US investments with visiting congressional delegation.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) confirmed that it had discussed its investments in the United States with the visiting congressional delegation, reported Taiwan News.

Senator Ed Markey and four members of the House of Representatives from both parties met President Tsai Ing-wen and visited the Legislative Yuan Monday during their two-day visit to Taiwan.

The world's largest semiconductor contract maker said Tuesday that a representative of its overseas investment team had exchanged views with the members of Congress about the company's current projects in the US.

TSMC is building a foundry in the state of Arizona designed to produce 5-nanometer chips, with manufacturing slated to start in 2024, reported Taiwan News.

The military threat from China and disruptions to global supply chains in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused rising international attention to TSMC's essential role in the electronics industry.

Moreover, after the United States invited South Korea to join its semiconductor alliance "Chip 4" to build a cooperative platform for the semiconductor supply chain, China's worries are set to bloom as the main goal of the communist nation to reduce its dependence on other countries for chips is likely to get hampered while US-China tensions rise.

This move comes as a shock to China which has dreamt of becoming a leader in semiconductor production by 2030 and is working overtime to enhance its capabilities and production to leave the US behind, a US-based publication reported.

The US-led Chip 4 alliance includes South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

The Chip 4 alliance has left China worried as the move tends to curb Beijing's growing capabilities as a chip maker.

According to the latest news reports, China is moving toward achieving more self-sufficiency in semiconductors which could eventually make some buyers reliant on China for many of the basic chips now in short supply.