Tensions between the US and China will slow global chip development and production, the founder of the world’s biggest processor manufacturer has said.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Asia Society in New York, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang warned that escalating restrictions will have a negative impact around the world.

US lawmakers earlier this month launched new export restrictions on what chips and chipmaking tools can be exported to China following the launch of a new Huawei phone based on a domestically manufactured processor. This is the latest in a series of export and trade restrictions that the US has placed on China.

Chang, who played a pivotal role in establishing Taiwan as the world’s leading producer of advanced microprocessors, told the conference: "I think that decoupling will ultimately slow down everybody. Of course, the immediate purpose is to slow China down, and I think it's doing that.

"It looks like counties are mad at each other, that worries me.”

He added that the economics of this decoupling were already becoming clear, and warned that previous economic conflicts had ended in wars. "Our only hope is it doesn't lead to anything even more serious," he said.

Chang said that the effects of such decoupling were already becoming clear and that many previous economic conflicts between established and emerging powers had ended in wars.

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