the biden administration forcing it to defend the island beijing sees as a renegade province. in part to preserve the vital semiconductor industry. >> in my discussions with president xi we told him we welcome the competition. we are not looking for conflict. but i made absolutely clear that we will defend america's interest across the board. >> 70% of the world's microchips are made in taiwan and south korea. china is the biggest consumer accounting for about 60% of global demand and its appetite is growing rapidly. two weeks ago the white house blacklisted seven chinese companies to keep the largest chip maker in the world the taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company from selling advanced chips to china. those chips could have been used to make advanced weapons. beijing still lags in domestic manufacturing of computer chips. >> it's been trying to get its hands on the equipment. and so far it's not been very