My Review of Chip War
When it comes to books on China, I've grown to appreciate the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover". A lot of the titles and pictures on the front are just marketing stunts saying more about what the publisher thinks of the audience rather than the content inside.
That being said, there are many books with cartoonish titles that talk about politics like it's a Marvel movie.
While I would still stay away from using an American flag with the title "Chip War" given that we live in the international and digitized 21st century where anyone can find a book, Chip War is certainly not among the books to avoid. Although I would agree with the critics that it worries over semiconductor and Chinese government ties after spending many pages talking about the American government investing in its own industry, it seems to me to have a message of humanity over nationalism since it mentions the US worrying about China using tech to spy when they have done so too and points out how the US government ignored the importance of semiconductors until 6 days before Trump's first term.
Seriously?
Is that true or just an example of Sunzi's feigned ignorance tactic?
What is more sad is that, as this book shows, this is not the 1st time the US semiconductor industry has been challenged. It goes over Japan's rise and how American businesses turned to South Korea to block them from winning the industry. Thus, I find myself asking if anything was learned from the past hubris. This is also a lesson for other countries: diversify and don't rely solely on the US.
I am not saying this as to be anti-American. I believe in harmony and as a half-foreigner, believe the US's worst enemy is itself.
The past with Japan also makes me wonder if there would be a trade war if China was a democracy.
That being said, this book also points out the IP issues of Japan and China.
In this increasingly wacky world, I still stand on the hill that things would be better if the US looked to other values besides supremacy and Chinese people respected the wishes of Taiwanese people.
This book is well written even given the jargon. I especially like how chapters were short and often ended with the same words as their titles.
Everyone should read this. I will be using it as a guidebook going forward.
Overall, it makes a good argument that Chinese companies will be unable to form a domestic semiconductor industry given the cost and expertise of other companies. HOWEVER, this argument rests on the assumption that Intel will save the day, and as it stands, Intel's stock having fallen to $20 does not spell well for that claim. What does that mean for the broader story?
Again, this is not anti-China. Once the older generation is out of power, I still believe all this fighting will be forgotten.
Otherwise, the key message is all of us have more to lose from being petty. Taiwan gets hit and we go back to washing our clothes in the river... and there are still many people who do that.
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Obviously, the above has some elements of romanticism. The US wants to prevent the Chinese military from getting access to chips to protect Taiwan. I just wish the country hadn’t been held back by their thinking that America is #1 and no other country, especially China, would ever surpass it. Many sinologists and even conservatives in the US put pressure on the US government and in conversations with normal Americans about China rising only to fall on deaf ears. Their arguments were usually very different, but they still had the message of “wake up”. The question still a few years after this book was written is whether the US can scramble to make up for lost time.
On the other hand, I am romantic to believe Chinese people can see the relationship between wanting to take Taiwan and pushing the US (and other countries) to be worried about China’s rise. I posted the top on my Linkedin and received a comment saying I was trying to tear Chinese apart. They view the Taiwanese as brothers and sisters. I see the Taiwanese as separate. Clearly, the way we perceive the situation differs. However, this book’s explanation of why a military takeover would be silly for everyone is valid.
The book also explains how the Taiwanese government almost made it legal for Chinese to buy into the semiconductor industry. The next question is whether that mimics the desires of the Taiwanese people… but then again even in the US, the government is doing things many people in the country do not want. Democracy is not perfect. Perhaps in the next decades, Taiwanese will come to be okay with a Chinese takeover through diplomacy. If that ever comes to pass, I’d be okay with it. However, that is not as the situation currently stands. Taiwanese wishes must be recognized.
BUT this also means the Taiwanese should have agency to do whatever they want without the US putting in regulations. After all, is the US trying to prevent China from becoming a leader in the broader chip industry due to fear of a Taiwan takeover or the US losing out? Having legal rule over Taiwanese company decisions makes me wonder…
If it is the latter reason, the question must be asked “how far will the US go to retain supremacy?” America was founded on the ideas of representation. Surely, telling Taiwan to do things isn’t following this. Will the US abandon other values in the future?
Being number one and being a country of human rights do not always go hand in hand.
And, it seems Taiwan has realized that placing too much power in the US’s hands is risky. The below is due to Trump’s comments about Taiwan stealing from the US:
