BTW, just found the following video that gives an interesting discussion on this and other, related topics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6NUO_bymuA&feature=youtu.be

I completely agree that Biden's "solution" to the problem will simply be to backtrack on Trump's hard stance against China, which is one of the few things Trump did right, and I have little doubt he would sell out Taiwan in the process, likely as part of a deal that China would in exchange provide a significant amount of semiconductors, raw materials, etc our way. Which of course would be very short-sighted, helping China become more powerful and extend their geopolitical boundaries for a short-term reward, and that's assuming they even held up their end, which they've been known not to do.

The only real solution is to bring a lot of the manufacturing back and not rely on China, or any other country, for critical goods. But the CEOs writing a letter urging Biden to do so is a bunch of BS. The CEOs of Intel/AMD/Qualcomm/etc are the ones that can make those decisions. They don't need Biden's help; he's not the one running the companies, they are. What they're really doing is asking for tax breaks, subsidies, etc to do the right thing, and using America's security as a bargaining chip. It's reprehensible, and lawmakers and investors should treat it as such.

Quote from: ariliquin on February 13, 2021, 02:24:11
not to mention how it is affecting car manufacturers with regular reports of downscaling production due to chip shortages. We are in the age of smart cars with significant arrays of LIDAR, sensors, image sensors and central processing. We are at the dawn of the largest transformation to the vehicle industry since bicycle to car.

We are at the dawn of the 4th industrial revolution, which necessitates computing power and data to automate, predict and empower decision making. This will be the future and China is trying to seize it.

not to mention how it is affecting car manufacturers with regular reports of downscaling production due to chip shortages. We are in the age of smart cars with significant arrays of LIDAR, sensors, image sensors and central processing. We are at the dawn of the largest transformation to the vehicle industry since bicycle to car.

I agree entirely with your comments but don't think you should put your hope in the Biden administration.

Were the Biden administration indeed devoted to improving supply sources from top to bottom, that would be good, but I suspect strongly that Biden's plan will look more like caving into China. I don't believe for a second that he would oppose China taking Taiwan. Notebookcheck probably chose exactly the right photo to headline this article.

Simple, stop buying everything from China.

Screw the CCP... there's no solution to this issue. Either you end up working with China or you choke resources.

About f**king time! This latest choke on the supply of semiconductors is just the tip of the iceberg. Biden is also going to push ensure a reliable supply of raw materials as well. China's stranglehold on many raw materials like rare earth elements is really making it hard to geopolitically counter them, because they use their market advantage (mainly due to lower operating standards) to dictate world geopolitics.

China has been eyeing Taiwan for a while, and under the pandemic when all oppositions are over-whelmed with the pandemic, they would like to grab Taiwan, in a huge part due to TSMC, the premier supplier of leading-edge silicon chips. By grabbing TSMC, China would have the world cornered from the raw materials up, to the very high-tech pinnacle of modern living standards and would be able to unilaterally dictate world politics and effectively replace the US and EU to become the most influential political power.

This couldn't have come quick enough from Biden. The EU, Australia, Canada and many others are all rapidly exploring alternatives to the supply chain that is anchored in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).