SUMMARY

• Growing U.S.-China tensions are prompting business magnates like Elon Musk and Warren Buffett to express concerns over a potential conflict over Taiwan, likely to be a central issue in the 2024 election.
• China's push for Taiwan's reunification, the global semiconductor industry leader, is raising fears of an international conflict, overshadowing even Russia's devastating war in Ukraine.
• Amidst these tensions, Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, revealed that it has completely sold off its substantial stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., citing geopolitical strife over Taiwan as a significant factor in its decision.

Eminent business figures, including Elon Musk and Warren Buffett, are expressing their growing concerns over escalating U.S.-China tensions, particularly focusing on the potential conflict over Taiwan, a topic likely to be a central issue in the forthcoming 2024 election.

Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China is steadily expanding its global influence, placing Taiwan, the global titan of the semiconductor industry, in the spotlight. The tension in the Taiwan Strait has provoked responses from top Republican presidential candidates, emphasizing the need for preventing potential Chinese aggression on the island. Taiwan is also a significant subject of discussion in the Group of Seven meeting in Japan this week, attended by President Joe Biden.

President Xi's ambition for Taiwan's reunification with China has accelerated Beijing's hostilities, revealing Taiwan's crucial role in the global economy and raising fears of an international conflict that could overshadow Russia's ruinous war in Ukraine. “It is an apparent policy of China that Taiwan should be incorporated," said Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, during an interview with CNBC.

In the backdrop of these developments, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it has entirely divested its substantial stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's leading chipmaker, contributing significantly to top tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Qualcomm. Buffett acknowledged that the geopolitical tussle over Taiwan influenced his decision to sell the shares.

Amid these events, Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates, raised caution in a LinkedIn post stating that the U.S. and China were on the brink of war, possibly a sanctions war rather than an armed conflict. These concerns from three members of Forbes' list of the world's wealthiest individuals have been seen as a wake-up call by Dewardric McNeal, a senior policy analyst at Longview Global.

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