American officials are increasingly opposed to trade with China, especially in areas such as tech. The Taiwanese seem to have a different view of what best serves their interests. Here’s Bloomberg:
Several Taiwanese technology companies are helping Huawei Technologies Co. build infrastructure for an under-the-radar network of chip plants across southern China . . .
They included a unit of Taiwanese chip material reseller Topco Scientific Co. and a subsidiary of Taipei-based L&K Engineering Co., according to a Bloomberg News investigation. Across town at another Huawei-affiliated site, Bloomberg identified workers from a subsidiary of construction specialist United Integrated Services Co.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Cica-Huntek Chemical Technology Taiwan Co. said on its website that it had won contracts to build chemical supply systems for two Chinese chipmakers — Shenzhen Pensun Technology Co. and Pengxinwei IC Manufacturing Co., which was blacklisted by the US last year. Both companies have been identified as working with Huawei to build chip fabrication facilities.
I am reminded of this remark by Montesquieu:
Peace is the natural effect of trade. Two nations who traffic with each other become reciprocally dependent…their union is founded on their mutual necessities.
Trade doesn’t guarantee peace—it just makes it more likely.
READER COMMENTS
David Henderson
Oct 5 2023 at 7:57pm
Good post.
Rafael
Oct 6 2023 at 7:25am
My favorite version of this due to its pithiness is
“when goods don’t cross borders soldiers will”.
Apocryphally attributed to Bastiat.
tpeach
Oct 6 2023 at 7:38am
On a similar note..
I’ve always thought the most obvious solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to make it easier for them to trade and do business with each other.
Hammering out a peace agreement isn’t going to be sustainable if both sides distrust each other and see the other’s presence as a threat.
But trade builds trust and mutual dependency. People have less time for ideological conflict when they’re too busy making money.
Brandon
Oct 6 2023 at 1:27pm
And it’s easier to trade with and trust each other if sides are bound together through some sort of peace pact. This is why Hayek pushed for federation between Israel and Palestine back in the 1970s, and why he pushed for federation in Europe prior to, and during, WWII.
This is also why Mises called for a world superstate to replace the “intransigent pretensions” of local and national sovereignties…
Richard Fulmer
Oct 7 2023 at 8:15am
From a piece in the Wall Street Journal this morning:
“The attack by Hamas inside Israel on Saturday highlights the limitations of an Israeli policy to boost the Gaza Strip economically and encourage the Islamist militants to refrain from conflict.
“Hamas had largely stayed out of recent spikes in violence between Israel and other Palestinian groups, as Israeli officials had loosened restrictions on imports to Gaza and helped facilitate exports, boosting the battered strip’s economy.
“Following an 11-day conflict with Hamas in 2021, Israeli officials had pursued a policy of jumpstarting the economy in Gaza to improve the lives of Palestinians. It bolstered supplies of water, medicine and fuel, and allowed new work permits for thousands of Gazans to find jobs in Israel for the first time since Hamas took control of the enclave in 2007.
“Until Saturday, Hamas bought into the unofficial quid pro quo, opting not to engage in violence alongside other Palestinian militant groups.”
vince
Oct 6 2023 at 2:05pm
Let’s start trading with Russia. Heck, why haven’t we been promoting it all along?
Scott Sumner
Oct 8 2023 at 2:28pm
It’s a bit late to prevent a Russia-Ukraine war, don’t you think? Let’s win the war, and then go back to free trade.
vince
Oct 8 2023 at 4:57pm
No. Let’s end it with a diplomatic solution including trade, all at once.
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