書名/Title: Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology
作者/Author(s): Chris Miller
出版商/Publisher: Scribner
年份/Year: 2022
主題/Key Topics : Technology, Great Power Competition, Economy, Military
摘要:
控制尖端技術可以讓一個國家在軍事、經濟和國家安全方面佔據優勢。當前中美之間的科技戰也都圍繞著尖端技術展開，例如 5G 技術和人工智慧 (AI)。現代技術的支柱在於半導體，也稱為晶片。晶片生產鏈極為一個複雜且有壟斷性，由幾個國家控制：美國、中國、台灣和韓國。美國和中國爭奪半導體產業的主導地位，以促進各自的國家安全和利益。與美國和中國有著複雜地緣政治關係的台灣，因其在半導體供應鏈中的重要性而陷入美中科技戰之中，並依靠半導體製造來生存。《Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology》這本書精彩地抓住了主導半導體產業或部分供應鏈的重要性。
Chip War 詳細介紹了半導體行業在主要國家的歷史：美國、中國、台灣、韓國和日本，從 1950 年代至今。書中記錄了國家和半導體公司為取得卓越地位而採取的戰略，以及它們在某些情況下下滑的原因，這促使一些半導體生產者專注於半導體生產的某些部分。
焦點集中在美國、台灣和中國大陸，它們在半導體供應鏈中發揮著重要作用，並在復雜的地緣政治衝突中交織在一起。美國是半導體的發源地，擁有領頭的技術公司，並控制著半導體生產的關鍵設備，雖然現今的美國半導體生產需求大量地仰賴外包。台灣在半導體產業至關重要，因為他們為現代設備生產世界一流品質的高端晶片，同時又面臨著來自中國大陸的持續經濟和軍事威脅。中國是製造業高端半導體的最大進口國，也是中低端晶片的最大生產國之一，其雄心是收復台灣並廢除美國的科技技術霸主地位。本書的最後部分涉及最近發生的事件：中國成為半導體生產領導者的野心，美國阻止中國夢想的戰略，台灣在美中科技戰中的微妙地位，以及導致全球半導體供應鏈暴露弱點的COVID-19 。
Summary:
Control of frontier technologies allows a country to prevail in its military, economy, and national security. The current technology war between the U.S. and China revolves around frontier technologies, such as 5G telecommunication networks and artificial intelligence (AI). The backbone of modern technologies lies within semiconductors, also known as chips, which have a complex and oligarchic production chain controlled by several countries: the U.S., China, Taiwan, and South Korea. The U.S. and China compete to dominate the semiconductor industry to advance their national security and interests. Taiwan, which has a complicated geopolitical relationship with the U.S. and China, is caught in the middle of the U.S.-China technology war due to its importance in the semiconductor supply chain and relies on semiconductor fabrication for its survival. Chris Miller’s Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology brilliantly captures the importance of dominating the semiconductor industry or parts of the supply chain.
Chip War details the semiconductor industry’s history in major countries: the U.S., China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, from the 1950s until now. It also records the strategies of countries and semiconductor companies to achieve preeminence and why they slumped in some instances, forcing some actors to specialize in certain parts of semiconductor production.
The limelight is put on the U.S., Taiwan, and China, which have significant roles in the semiconductor supply chain and are interlocked in a complex geopolitical conflict. The U.S. is the birthplace of semiconductors, houses major technology firms, and controls critical apparatus for semiconductor production despite relying much on outsourcing for production. Taiwan is crucial in the semiconductor industry because it produces world-class quality high-end chips for modern devices but faces constant economic and military threats from China. China is the largest importer of high-end semiconductors for manufacturing technology goods and one of the largest producers of low- and medium-end chips, with an ambition to reclaim Taiwan and dethrone the U.S. from its technology supremacy.
The final sections of Chip War entail recent events: China’s ambition to be the leader in semiconductor production, the U.S.’s strategy to impede China’s dream, Taiwan’s delicate position under the U.S.-China technology war, and the vulnerability of the global semiconductor supply chain exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.