Chip War — An Invisible Struggle That Defines The Future of Superpowers

In Oct. 2022, The Biden administration published a CHIPS and Science Act with a sweeping set of export controls to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with US tools. This marked a significant escalation of the Chip War launched by the US against a rising China. Washington knows that advanced semiconductor technology is crucial to maintaining its military superiority.

Despite the fact that our modern lives depend on semiconductors every day, few of us understand this industry. Even those who work in the industry don't necessarily have an overall picture in their mind. The semiconductor industry is an extremely complicated industry that relies on a high level of cooperation between nations around the world. However, China, driven by an ambition to be the next world leader and a sense of insecurity in its competition with the US, is striving for self-sufficiency in semiconductors. Will China achieve its goal? Who are the main players in the semiconductor industry? Why is the Chip War defining the future of the world?

In this episode, we discussed these topics with Chris Miller, Associate Professor of International History at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. His elegant, riveting and insightful book "Chip War. The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology" portrayed this immensely complicated, vast industry, the Chip War and its economic and geopolitical implications distinctively.

This episode is edited by Yu Ge.