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Chip wars ramp up for an unsavoury battle

A US-China trade war is the latest sign of the faltering globalisation project – and semiconductor microchips are becoming weaponised, writes Jason Walsh

China has announced its goal of decoupling from the US and Taiwan by attaining 70 per cent autonomy in chip-making. Picture: Getty

In recent decades we have all become used to the words ‘made in China’, not least when it comes to technology. That may be about to change, however. Following five decades of liberalisation and ever-closer Chinese alignment with the West, beginning with then US president Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit, China has started to retreat from international co-operation, instead seeking to strengthen its domestic technological capabilities.

The US, meanwhile, has virtually declared an all-out trade war, ...