‘The eye of the storm’: Taiwan is caught in the great game over microchips

As Chinese warships rehearsed a blockade of Taiwan this month, they simulated a scenario that global leaders and policymakers have been busy worrying about: not war, but a grinding halt to the electronic supply chains that make the modern world run.

Taiwan’s biggest trading partners — which include China, the United States, Europe and Japan — have different ideas about the self-ruled island’s political future, yet all share common ground in one desire: to expand their piece of its cutting-edge semiconductor industry.

Beginning with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit early this month, a succession of American delegations have kissed the ring of top Taiwan chip executives.