Nations race for control as computer chip manufacturing has become the new geopolitical arms race

In the intricate world of semiconductor manufacturing, global powers vie for control over the tiny yet indispensable chips, crucial for AI, electric vehicles, and military systems. The US, China, and Europe navigate a high-stakes race, transforming access to chip technology into a geopolitical weapon. As nations invest billions to secure domestic production, the industry's fate hinges on a few giants, notably Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The struggle intensifies as supply chain control becomes a battleground in the larger contest for technological dominance and national security.

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Why Making Computer Chips Has Become a New Arms Race

By Ian King and Debby Wu

The incredibly complex, high-stakes business of making semiconductors has always been a battle of corporate giants. Now it's also a race among governments. These critical bits of technology — also known as integrated circuits or, more commonly, just chips — may be the tiniest yet most exacting products ever manufactured. And because they're so difficult and costly to produce, there's a worldwide reliance on just a handful of companies, a dependence that was brought into stark relief by shortages during the pandemic. Access to chips has also become a geopolitical weapon, with the US ratcheting up curbs on exports to China to contain the rise of an economic rival.

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