Economic prosperity and global power in the twentieth century were defined by oil. Today, economic growth and our very way of life are defined by silicon. Semiconductors that are thinner than a strand of human hair power everything from our electric toothbrush to our smartphones to the most sophisticated fighter jets.
The global semiconductor market was valued at US$573.44 billion in 2022 and is projected to exceed over 1 trillion dollars by 2030. To put this into perspective, in 2021 China spent US$432 billion on imported microprocessors, the equivalent of its total expenditure on grain and crude oil imports.
Given the crucial role of semiconductors, often referred to as chips, in the modern-day economic system, it is surprising that it has taken increased tensions with China and the supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 for heads of state to view seriously the vulnerabilities in these global supply chains.
SUPPLYING CHIPS
The quirk of history that located the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing in Taiwan was a product of the far-sightedness of
