The writer is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. He previously served as then US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer’s national security adviser
While Washington fixates on advanced AI semiconductors, Beijing is quietly cornering the market in so-called foundational chips that power everything from cars to medical devices to defence systems. American supply chain security potentially hangs on the decisions taken in response to pending investigations by the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce into China’s bid for dominance of the sector.
The numbers are stark. China already accounts for close to 40 per cent of global chip capacity — a trajectory that points to even greater dominance by the late 2020s. Yet this crisis remains fatally overshadowed by the more glamorous race for AI supremacy.