Enes Kanter Freedom warns Taiwan’s semiconductor dominance is at risk

President Donald Trump returned from Beijing touting a warm trade relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but the summit left unresolved one of the most important benchmarks in US-China relations: Taiwan.

“Taiwan is the center of the global technological race,” former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview. “If you want to understand the future of AI governance, economic power and national security, you must understand Taiwan.”

Former Boston Celtics player and outspoken human rights activist known for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party, Freedom, said the lack of progress shows that Taiwan remains an unresolved issue at the center of America’s economic and land security competition with China. Freedom noted in his remarks that, “Trump has always understood that Communist China is the biggest long-term challenge for the United States.”

“I think that President Trump has always emphasized that peace is maintained by force. I believe that maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait requires strong American leadership, strategic clarity, and reliable deterrence that leaves no room for miscalculation by authoritarian regimes,” said Freedom.

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The pending decision comes as Taiwan continues to seek US weapons intended to harden the island against a possible Chinese invasion.

Trump has not publicly committed to moving forward with a new arms package for Taiwan while talks have produced no publicly announced breakthroughs in Taiwan or other key strategic disputes, making the pending weapons decision a signal closely watched by Beijing and Taipei.

A senior White House administration official told Fox News Digital that Trump will make a decision in the short term on a new arms package for Taiwan and noted that he approved an $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan by December 2025, “consistent with American policy since the 1950s.”

“In his first term, President Trump has authorized more arms sales to Taiwan than any other President in history,” the official said. In his second term, President Trump approved more in his first year than in all four years under President Biden. “

Trump was joined in China by top US technology officials, including leading AI executives during the summit, underscoring how the US-China rivalry over artificial intelligence has become an economic and political arms race.

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Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said in a Facebook post on Sunday that US arms purchases are “the most important obstacles” to regional conflicts.

“The long-standing security cooperation and arms trade between Taiwan and the US is based on the Taiwan Relations Act,” Lai said. “This serves not only as proof of the United States’ security commitment to Taiwan but also as a very important means of deterring acts that undermine regional peace and stability—a role it has played for decades.”

“If you want to understand the future of AI governance, economic power and national security, you have to understand Taiwan … President Trump has always understood that Communist China is the biggest long-term challenge for the US,” said Enes Kanter Freedom. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)

“Taiwan is deeply connected to America’s economy, military readiness, and the future of AI. So this is not just about Asia, this is about who controls the technology that will define the next century. For that reason, I think America needs Taiwan, and Taiwan needs America,” said Freedom.

Chips manufactured in Taiwan are used in a wide range of technologies, including consumer electronics, telecommunications systems, and advanced security applications.

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Major chip designers including Apple, Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm rely heavily on Taiwan-based contract manufacturing. The US International Trade Administration describes Taiwan as “owned by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co” and at the center of global semiconductor production.

Trump was joined in China by top US technology officials including leading AI executives during the summit. (Mark Schifelbein/Associated Press)

“The rapid growth of Korea and Taiwan has been due to the long-term megatrend of semiconductors as the ‘new oil’ – a key input for economic activity – combined with the recent price increase in AI investments,” said Ian Samson, portfolio manager at Fidelity International to Bloomberg. He added that it reflects the “oligopolistic nature of leading semiconductor manufacturing.”

China has recently increased military pressure around Taiwan through heavy air and military activity.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry wrote on X on Thursday, that “‘Taiwan independence’ and cross-Strait peace do not mix like fire and water. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is a common denominator between China and the US”

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“Taiwan is deeply connected to America’s economy, military readiness, and the future of AI. So this is not just about Asia, this is about who controls the technology that will define the next century. For that reason, I think America needs Taiwan, and Taiwan needs America,” said Freedom. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

Freedom will visit the island, where basketball is very popular, this October to help organize basketball camps for the next generation of athletes.

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“I think my main goal in this trip is to write everything down and share it with the world. I want people to see what Taiwan really stands for…a free, healthy country, a democratic society that refuses to bow to intimidation,” said Freedom.

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Freedom said he wants to do everything in his power to bring attention to what he described as China’s genocide of the Uyghur people, as well as the struggles of Hong Kong workers, Tibetans, Falun Gong, and, more recently, what he called the torture of Taiwanese people.