Who’s Winning the US-China Chip War? Ask These Experts
Researchers who can unravel devices’ inner workings become key players in the battle over access to tech innovation.
A Huawei Mate 60 Pro smartphone.
Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg
In September 1939, Clare Hollingworth scored the scoop of all scoops. The British journalist observed a mass of German soldiers poised on the Polish border and called it in to the news desk at London’s Daily Telegraph. Three days later, the soldiers made their move to invade, a fact confirmed by Hollingworth to the British Embassy by lifting a telephone in the air so officials could hear the commotion.
War reporting is replete with examples like this, when our eyes and ears efficiently reveal or confirm what official channels cannot. The same principles apply to today’s chip war between the US and China, a fight for supremacy and self-reliance in technological innovation. One of the best ways to monitor China’s true progress in chips is simply to take a look by cracking open the latest devices and examining the components therein.