Chip War

Chapter 42 examines China’s strategic anxieties regarding its dependence on foreign-made semiconductors, particularly from the United States. While China’s tech giants like Tencent and Baidu dominate the internet landscape, the country’s hardware infrastructure remains heavily reliant on imported chips, primarily from US-based companies such as Intel and Nvidia. Xi Jinping, China’s leader, recognized the risks of this dependence and sought to develop domestic chip production to secure national security and economic modernization. The chapter explores the tensions between China’s desire for technological independence and the realities of the global semiconductor supply chain. It draws parallels between China’s efforts and earlier successes by Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea in establishing domestic semiconductor industries, pointing to government involvement, investment, and foreign partnerships as key elements of those strategies.

In Chapter 43, Miller discusses China’s ambitions to achieve technological self-sufficiency, particularly in semiconductors, in response to its dependence on foreign tech and semiconductors. In a 2017 speech at Davos, Xi Jinping framed China’s vision for global economic leadership, while simultaneously expressing deep concerns about the country’s reliance on imported chips. China had vast technological ambitions, as outlined in its “Made in China 2025” plan, which aimed to drastically reduce the share of foreign chips in its economy by developing a domestic semiconductor industry.