In an intriguing display of supposed solidarity with democratic expressions, China expressed worries earlier today regarding the Taiwanese government potentially gifting its chip industry as a “souvenir” to the USA. Chinese representatives fear that Taiwan’s TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) could soon be referred to as the “United States Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.”.

According to Reuters, Zhu Fenglian from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office presented no evidence for the claims that Taiwanese citizens were concerned about such issues.

To add some context, China categorically denies the idea that the residents of Taiwan should be consulted regarding the demands from the mainland for the territory’s assimilation back into China.

Furthermore, there was no proof offered that the Taiwanese government is, as claimed, “utilizing Taiwan’s semiconductor industry and influential companies to seek independence by courting foreign nations, even offering them as keepsakes.”

This entire situation occurs against the backdrop of threats from President Trump proposing to impose tariffs up to 100% on chips from Taiwan, TSMC’s expansion of production facilities in the USA, and rumors of TSMC discussing a joint control arrangement with Intel.

For clarity, TSMC is essentially the megafoundry behind the world’s most advanced chips, manufacturing the majority of AMD, Nvidia, and Intel’s GPUs, as well as most AMD CPUs and some Intel CPUs.

China’s anxiety regarding Taiwan’s chip industry likely stems from the realization that the highly sought-after TSMC itself probably cannot be seized through military force. This is a matter of production reality rather than political might, highlighting the fragility of chip manufacturing processes and the complex global supply chains they rely on.