The American-Chinese trade war and the subsidy race are fragmentation of the world, the central theme of the 53rd World Economic Forum which is held in Switzerland.
By Philippe Escande
In front of the buildings under construction, on the dry land of Arizona, Morris Chang, 91, sees both her past and her future. The founder of the TSMC electronic flea manufacturer cannot hide his bitterness. “Globalization is dead, free trade is dead, and I don’t think they will come back soon.” It was there, this December 6, 2022, to celebrate a joyful moment. In the company of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the bosses of Apple, AMD or NVIDIA, among its main customers, he attended the opening ceremony of a giant electronic factory, a first for a long time on the ground American.
The two actors of the drama that is played out today were in the gallery. The Creator Chang, who theorized and launched, during the 1980s, the great wave of globalization of the electronic industry, and the gravedigger Biden. Amplifying the trade war against China triggered by its predecessor, Donald Trump, the current tenant of the White House carried the blow of grace, by prohibiting exports of technology to China, and by pouring torrents of subsidies to attract factories on its territory. From now on, two clans compete, not only in electronics. For Morris Chang, whose major customers are in both camps, it is a heartbreak.
In this context, it is not surprising that the 53 e Davos Economic Forum, which is held from Tuesday 17 to Friday 20 January, chose as the main theme “cooperate in a world fragmented “. In other words, can we still pick up the pieces of a blessed era of entrepreneurs like Morris Chang? The annual meeting in the peaceful Alpine station of Graubünden, in Switzerland, is the point of convergence of the business world and the policy of all the countries of the world. A sort of “UN Business”, where Vladimir Putin could meet, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, facing the CEOs of the entire planet.
This is no longer really the case. This year, no Russians and few Chinese on the 2,700 managers and experts from 130 countries. Only among the big nations, the Germans, who seem to be the last to believe, sent a delegation provided led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and comprising his finance and economy ministers, Christian Lindner and Robert Habeck. The Chinese Deputy Prime Minister, Liu He, the Spanish Prime Ministers, Pedro Sanchez, Finnish, Sanna Marin, and Greek, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as well as the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Lyen, will also be there.
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