TSMC is a key player in the technology industryto the extent that although the chips are designed by other companies, it is the manufacturing plants of the Taiwanese company that mass-produce them. the interest of many companies that design their chips so that they can then be manufactured by TSMC.

As responsible for producing 54% of the world chip market, we can undoubtedly say that if the TSMC suffers from a problem, the consequences can be global. A recent example of this is the occurrence of coronavirus restrictions in one of its factories, which can delay the arrival of the iPhone 14 Max by weeks.

Although TSMC is headquartered in Taiwan (remember that the meaning of its abbreviation is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), the company has several production plants in China, to which we must add the geopolitical situation between China and Taiwan. In other words, it could be said that the world’s largest chip company is located, geographically, in a place that is currently stable, but by far the most reassuring in the world.

In fact, we’ve been here a long time, listen to news of possible Chinese plans to invade Taiwan and annex the territory it has historically claimed since becoming independent. And if such an aggression might have seemed extremely distant a few months ago, the experience of what had happened between Ukraine and Russia served as a reminder that, in fact, it could happen at any time.

Western interests in the TSMC are more than obviousand dependence on many global technology companies makes China view the TSMC as a colossal strategic goal. And that this coincides with the rise of relations between the West, especially the United States, and China is not a good sign, even remotely. On the contrary, it should make us start worrying about the future of the TSMC.

As we can read at TechSpot, Chen Wenling, chief economist of the China Center for International Economic Exchange, a government organization, said:If the United States and the West impose destructive sanctions on China, such as those against Russia, we must take back Taiwan«. And in an even more specific way, he added “In particular in the reconstruction of the industrial chain and the supply chain, we should take over the TSMC«. Small space for interpretation.

The West is critically dependent on Taiwanese industry, and any hostile action by China against Taiwan could be expected to be satisfied by the international community. However, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has once again shown us that, as the proverb says, there is a long way to go. And, of course, if China decided to take over the TSMC and could do so, the consequences could be absolutely catastrophic.

At the moment we are talking only about the opinion of an economist, although an economist very well located in China, but it may be appropriate to start developing an alternative plan, Option B, to which to return if the time of hostilities comes and China takes control of the TSMC. We can only hope that it will never happen, that peace will last, but we live in a time when we can no longer believe that it will.