Ready for shortages? China-Taiwan: War Returning to the Stone Age
Taiwan is indeed a founder of chips and very important microprocessors. A large part of the cross-country skiers are based on the island, including TSMC, the largest cross-country skier in the world. TSMC manufactures the A12 Bionic chips used in Apple’s iPhones, semiconductors from nVidia, Sony, AMD, as well as the massively used Qualcomm Snapdragon chips in Android smartphones. But that’s not all since UMC, the second largest producer in the world is also Taiwanese. Together, they represent almost half of world production. And if you think you will do without these processors, know that they are now found everywhere: household appliances, cars, medical devices…
If Beijing invades Taiwan, the Chinese economy will be blocked, warns the CEO of TSMC, world leader in semiconductors https://t.co/nsrNZj2y4w
— sovereign tech (@SovereignTech) August 18, 2022
A complicated situation
During the pandemic and confinements, the demand for electronic objects (computers, tablets, screens, smartphones, televisions, game consoles, etc.) increased sharply even as production systems were idling in all countries of the globe. Teleworking has also contributed to this increase in demand, as consumers necessarily need to be better equipped. The China-Taiwanese conflict is a tense situation between the two countries that dates back to 1949. Tensions have been reignited recently due in part to the visit of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. It must be said that Taiwan is a country, but it is not recognized by the international community. Even at the Olympics, Taiwan cannot show its true flag.
What is the silicon war?
China is now threatening to cut economic ties with Taiwan, which is likely to have a negative impact on the smartphone and microprocessor industry in general. In the event of a war, China could get their hands on this loot, although the TSMC boss has already warned that in the event of an attack, ” the facilities will become inoperative“. In short, they would rather sink the ship than leave it to the Middle Kingdom.
For its part, China is threatening to cut economic ties with Taiwan and this could have dramatic consequences for the electronics industry. Indeed, the production of chips and microprocessors would be seriously impacted, which would result in higher prices for devices and a potential decline in their quality. Taiwanese smelters would also struggle to find other customers for their products. This “silicon war” is not far from overthrowing our little world turned around new technologies.
