Taiwan: “The red line”

In 2021, the Taiwan Strait accounted for the movement of 80 percent of the world’s largest ships by tonnage and more than 40 percent of the entire global container fleet. Much of the cargo contains semiconductors, whether as individual components or as parts in the freezers, laptops, TVs, and vehicles being shipped. As the main shipping route between Asian manufacturing hubs to markets in Europe, the US, and everywhere along the way, it’s a highly strategic body of water.

That’s why the US’s stance on Taiwan is that any aggression from China towards it would be a matter of concern for the global economy, rather than being an internal matter over China’s sovereignty, as the latter perceives. Notably, China regards semiconductors as an essential resource for its economy – Taiwan produces 65 percent of the world's semiconductors and almost 90 percent of the advanced chips.

In November, Chinese Minister of Defense General WEI Fenghe met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and repeated President Xi Jinping's description of Taiwan as “the very core of China's core interests [and] the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations”.