Gina Raimonda came out calling her own attack on China’s semiconductor industry a ‘fool’s arrand. According to Aai financial, the Commerce Secretary’s exact words were “Trying to hold China back is a fool’s errand,” adding that “The only way to beat China is to stay ahead of them… We have to run faster, out innovate them. That’s the way to win.”¹  But who led this errand exactly. Gina was sworn in in 2021 and immediately pledged to use an ‘entity list’ to strike at Chinese semiconductor companies.² At this time she didn’t seek to out innovate but rather hold back Huawei and Chinese companies. The story put her squarely into the center of the errand, making is Gina’s errand that she now regrets.

She led the charge to hold Chinese companies back using US sanctions and US pressure tactics, rather than by competing. The newly sworn-in U.S. Commerce secretary defended the “entity list,” which prohibits U.S. companies from doing business with certain foreign businesses including China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., and vowed to use the list “to its full effect.” It was Gina who orchestrated and championed the strategy of trying to hold to hold Chinese companies back.

Throughout these years, American voices from within China, on social media, clarified, on numerous occasions that Gina’s strategies would hurt the US and its allies. China has historically been the world’s largest consumer of semiconductors. By Gina denying China access to these chips, Gina caused China to be self-reliant.

China was and remains the world’s largest exporter of electronics devices, each with microprocessors. Gina ensured China’s self-reliance dried up demand for chips from abroad. She sabotaged the US and US ally’s largest customer, China and her errand led to a massive reduction in revenue to support growth and money for R&D outside China.

Gina’s errand also led to massive investments inside China into R&D for chips and chip making tools. Huawei led the charge and released product after product using domestically manufactured chips. China is now almost wholly self-reliant and rapidly developing chips which are more competitive than US related brands. As 2025 opens, China has already patented its own domestic lithography machines. The result will be Chinese scaling of these technologies and a massive undermining of US logistics chains in the realm of semiconductors.

Gina has been the single most responsible for moving China up the supply chain. Her errand has led to crisis for western owned and influenced chip companies. China honestly owes her thanks. As her poorly planned moves have devasted the US and led to a more rapid development by Chinese firms advanced chips. Her efforts were universally understood in China as a tech-war on the Chinese people. She has been mocked in social media where the people made images of her as the brand ambassador of Huawei. As the people of China universally acknowledge her efforts led to China leapfrogging in the semiconductor space.

1. https://www.asiafinancial.com/trying-to-restrict-china-in-chips-a-fools-errand-raimondo-wsj
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2. https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-03-06/new-us-commerce-secretary-pledges-to-use-entity-list-to-full-effect-101671518.html ↩︎