Welcome to the “News Insight II” on February 3rd, Monday, where we delve into the breaking news. Our guest for this episode is senior political and economic commentator, Wu Jialong, hosted by Zhang Dongxu.
Today’s focus revolves around the relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan in the semiconductor industry. Why does the U.S. still show a standoffish attitude towards Taiwan despite its reliance on Taiwanese chips? Is it preparing for future conflicts to protect Taiwan? DeepSeek advances the U.S. comprehensive strategy against AI from China! The “Sputnik Moment” between the U.S. and China! The trade war backdrop behind the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Internationally, several significant events have unfolded. The White House directly points to the COVID-19 virus originating from a Wuhan laboratory. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Trump officially imposed the first hammer of tariffs on China, causing a drop in the Chinese yuan. Trump also hinted at imposing tariffs on chips, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, how will it affect the global market supply chain? What does this mean for Taiwan and TSMC, is it a challenge or an opportunity?
DeepSeek’s AI model release revealed that China has been manipulating the U.S. stock market through cyber armies, spreading fake news, and impacting the financial market. This was followed by accusations of theft, deception, and concealing the real costs by China. China’s hyping of the so-called “AI Pearl Harbor attack” prompted Wall Street tycoons to call for an investigation into financial crimes.
On February 1st, Chinese New Year’s Day, the White House’s senior trade and manufacturing advisor, Peter Navarro, confirmed that President Trump officially ordered a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, and a 10% tariff on Chinese goods to combat fentanyl drugs and illegal immigration. Navarro suggested that if Mexico, Canada, or Beijing retaliates against the new tariffs, the U.S. will respond with a possible increase in tariffs.
Wu Jialong’s analysis of Trump’s announcements includes the imposition of new or additional tariffs on various foreign goods, including microchips, oil and natural gas, steel, aluminum, copper, and all forms of drugs. How will this impact global trade? How does he view the effects and strategies of Trump’s initial tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico, and what retaliatory measures might these countries take?
With Trump’s warnings, speculation arises about potential tariffs on Taiwanese chips and TSMC. Is this a chance or a challenge for Taiwan? Furthermore, U.S. nominee for the Commerce Department, Howard Lutnick, stated on January 29th that if confirmed, he would impose the highest tariffs on Chinese products as a part of the U.S. response to the AI war.
He remarked, “We must find a way to support our export controls using a tariff regime to tell the Chinese that ‘you think we are your most important trading partner – we don’t think so, the answer is no.'” Lutnick added, “This is a matter of mutual respect. They don’t respect us; they have found a way around our controls.”
Consulting with Wu Jialong on his opinions on these statements.
On Inauguration Day, January 20th, DeepSeek, a Chinese company, introduced an AI model, claiming low cost at only $6 million. By the 27th, there was a tech stock sell-off in the U.S. stock market. Mainland Chinese media labeled this as the so-called “AI Pearl Harbor attack.”
However, the situation took a downward turn as evidence surfaced implicating DeepSeek in the theft and misuse of OpenAI technology. Moreover, its chatbot success rate was only 17%, and allegations of political censorship and propaganda by the Chinese government ensued, leading to investigations and bans by multiple countries.
Bloomberg reported that the stock market plunge caused by DeepSeek was a strange delayed reaction, with accusations of Chinese involvement. Palmer Luckey, dubbed the “Silicon Valley Oppenheimer,” criticized the U.S. media for blindly reporting without fact-checking, falling into China’s propaganda trap.
Subsequent investigations revealed that accounts related to the Chinese government, including diplomats, embassies, and official media, extensively promoted DeepSeek’s AI model on social media platforms before the stock market crash. Another report exposed that the actual cost of DeepSeek, just for server capital, amounted to $1.6 billion.
Seeking Wu Jialong’s insights on this event: How does he view the situation where Chinese media described the “AI Pearl Harbor attack”? President Trump summoned NVIDIA’s Huang Renxun to the White House, discussing DeepSeek, U.S. chip AI export controls. What are the U.S.’s countermeasures? Wall Street veteran Bill Ackman warned that if Minkowski quantization shorted NVIDIA for profit by spreading false information and manipulating the U.S. stocks, it’s financial crime, prompting immediate investigations by the U.S.
During the Chinese New Year period, there has been ongoing concern over the severe outbreak in China, with reports of mass cremations at various sites, raising questions about what the Chinese government is concealing. Trump’s government, on January 20th, released declassified 2019 COVID-19 virus origin reports, suggesting it likely stemmed from a Wuhan laboratory.
A White House spokesperson declared, “Ratcliffe has revealed the truth to the American people…we now know this is a confirmable truth.” This revelation comes several years late.
Querying Wu Jialong’s views on this investigation conclusion and what he derives from this move by the Trump administration.
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