Taiwan's key role in the chip industry is also a shield for the democratic island nation. The West and China are investing heavily in their own factories. Much to Taiwan's chagrin?
If China were to carry out its repeated threats against the democratic island of Taiwan, the global economy would be in trouble. And that would be no small feat. Whether cars, artificial intelligence, smartphones or electrical devices: chips are used everywhere, and the most advanced of them often come from Taiwan. A naval blockade or even an invasion by China would result in huge bottlenecks in global value chains. That is why politicians and companies around the world are looking with increasing concern at the island, which is seen in Beijing as a renegade province and whose rapid reintegration into the Middle Kingdom Xi Jinping, the local ruler, considers inevitable.