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Taiwan leverages chip power for diplomacy at Semicon trade show

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At this year’s Semicon trade show in Taipei, Taiwan elevated its “chip diplomacy” strategy, using its dominance in the semiconductor industry to strengthen diplomatic ties with both established allies and new partners.

Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, sits at the center of global supply chains but Taiwan itself remains diplomatically isolated due to China’s sovereignty claims. To counter this, Taiwan’s foreign ministry co-sponsored a Semicon geopolitics panel for the first time, where Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung described semiconductors and AI as “strategic resources” and stressed the need for trusted, “non-red” supply chains outside China.

The outreach comes as Taiwan courts “like-minded” democracies in Central and Eastern Europe, where sympathy has grown following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Czech Science Minister Marek Zenisek, speaking alongside President Lai Ching-te, highlighted shared democratic values and pitched his country as a supplier for TSMC’s first European fab in Dresden, Germany.

But Semicon also drew less expected guests. Costa Rica, which cut ties with Taiwan in 2007 in favor of China, attended for the first time with a national pavilion. And in another first, a group of 10 African tech entrepreneurs joined, supported by the French-African Foundation. Joelle Itoua Owona, CEO of AfriWell Health in the Republic of Congo, said African governments want to diversify partnerships beyond China, calling Taiwan “an additional friend.”

With 17 country pavilions—the most ever— this year’s Semicon showcased how Taiwan’s chip industry has become a powerful diplomatic tool. Beyond chips and AI, the trade show highlighted Taiwan’s role in building global coalitions at a time of intensifying pressure from Beijing.

Synopsys Shares Plunge 35% on China Woes, Erasing 2025 Gains

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Synopsys shares tumbled nearly 35% on Wednesday, putting the chip design software giant on track for its worst single-day drop on record and wiping out gains accumulated in 2025. The decline followed disappointing earnings and fresh concerns about its business in China, a key semiconductor market under tightening U.S. export restrictions.

The company reported Q3 revenue of $1.74 billion, missing analyst estimates, with weakness in its IP segment. CEO Sassine Ghazi blamed U.S. export curbs — which blocked sales of chip design software to China for more than a month — and setbacks at a “major foundry customer.” Although restrictions were lifted in July, analysts said Chinese customer confidence has eroded, leaving demand subdued.

Synopsys generates more than 10% of industry revenue from China, but geopolitical tensions have made that stream increasingly fragile. Shares of rival Cadence Design Systems also dropped nearly 7% in sympathy.

While Ghazi did not identify the foundry customer, analysts pointed to Intel, which has dramatically scaled back its 18A chip manufacturing technology and broader foundry ambitions. J.P. Morgan suggested Synopsys had dedicated significant IP resources to Intel’s program, only to see its potential curtailed.

The downturn comes as Synopsys completes its $35 billion acquisition of Ansys, a move aimed at diversifying its engineering software portfolio. However, the company also announced it will cut 10% of its workforce by 2026 as part of a strategic review.

With trade restrictions clouding its China outlook and reliance on slowing customers like Intel, Synopsys faces mounting pressure to stabilize its core business even as it integrates Ansys.

U.S. Warns of Hidden Radios in Solar-Powered Highway Infrastructure

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U.S. transportation officials have issued a security advisory warning that solar-powered highway equipment — including electric vehicle chargers, weather stations, and traffic cameras — may contain undocumented cellular radios and other rogue devices hidden inside imported inverters and battery systems.

The advisory, circulated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on August 20 and reviewed by Reuters, follows discoveries of undocumented communications components in foreign-manufactured power inverters and battery management systems (BMS). While the note did not name a country of origin, many inverters are produced in China, and the warning aligns with rising U.S. scrutiny of Chinese technology in critical infrastructure.

Officials fear such hidden radios could allow remote tampering, enabling disruptions ranging from synchronized outages to the manipulation of roadside systems essential for autonomous vehicle operations. Anomadarshi Barua, a George Mason University researcher, said compromised inverters could be exploited to trigger power surges or send malicious commands, “creating a lot of havoc.”

Earlier this year, U.S. energy officials raised alarms after rogue communications hardware was found in Chinese-made inverters and batteries. Denmark’s grid operators also reported unexplained electronic components in imported energy equipment.

The FHWA memo urged transportation authorities to inventory inverters, conduct spectrum scans for unauthorized signals, remove undocumented radios, and ensure network segmentation to limit exposure.

China’s Embassy in Washington rejected the warnings, denouncing what it called the “distortion and smear of China’s achievements in energy infrastructure.”

The warning adds to broader U.S. measures targeting Chinese technology. Washington has already moved to ban most Chinese cars and trucks from the U.S. market by late 2026 over concerns that vehicle software and sensors could be used for data collection or surveillance.