Vox: Why China is losing the microchip war

With Chris Miller, Associate Professor of International History at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

In October 2022, the Biden administration placed a large-scale ban on the sale of advanced semiconductor chips to China. They also implemented a series of other rules that prevents China from making these chips on their own. These chips are used in everyday technology, like our mobile phones and computers. They’re also crucial to military and intelligence systems, which is one of the main reasons they’re at the center of a feud between the United States and China.

Microchips were first invented in the US in the 1950s, after which their use rapidly expanded worldwide. Since then, the supply chain for these chips has grown and spread to include countries in Europe and Asia. And while some countries have caught up to the US’s edge in making these advanced chips, China still falls far behind despite multiple attempts to gain an advantage.

Watch the latest episode of Vox Atlas to understand why China is losing a new cold war with the US over microchips.

This interview is republished from Vox.