Part 8/11:
The stakes are immense. The US retains a lead in chip design, but manufacturing heavily depends on East Asia—Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan—regions vulnerable to disruption. Meanwhile, China is pouring billions into becoming self-sufficient, with ambitions to produce comparable or superior chips within three years.
If China succeeds, the global technological order could flip rapidly. The West’s current lead in AI and related technologies might evaporate, turning the US into a mere supplier of agricultural products to China’s expanding industrial empire—a sobering warning that echoes earlier predictions.