How threatened is globalization? Look at the battle for control of the global chip market
The semiconductor industry, a stalwart of the global economy, is succumbing to fierce nationalistic competition
WUHAN, China — At a muddy construction site the size of 12 baseball stadiums, globalization is turning into nationalism. Truck after truck delivers steel rods to China’s Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd, a state-owned firm that’s spending $24 billion to build the country’s first advanced memory-chip factories. It’s part of the Chinese government’s plan to become a major player in the global chip market and the move is setting off alarms in Washington. When Unigroup tried to buy US semiconductor firms in 2015 and 2016, Washington shot down the bids. It is considering other moves to counter Beijing’s push. China is aiming “to take over more and more segments of the semiconductor market,” says White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who fears Beijing will flood the market with inexpensive products and bankrupt US companies. Unigroup’s CEO Zhao Weiguo says he is only building his own factories due to Washington’s refusal to let him invest in the US “Chinese companies have faced discrimination in ...
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