Let’s get ready to rumble! In the blue corner, we’ve got the U.S., our very own Macho Man Randy Savage of the tech world, with his tag team partners, Stone Cold Janet Yellen and The Rock Antony Blinken, squaring off against China, the Iron Sheik of international relations. This isn’t just a friendly exhibition match. No, this is a Steel Cage Death Match for the title of technological supremacy. The prize? The championship belt of global dominance. The ring? The global stage of international politics.

The madness is runnin’ wild.

Stone Cold Yellen and The Rock Blinken have both made trips to Beijing recently, presumably to cut promos and size up the competition. But don’t be fooled by the pre-match banter. The bell has rung, and the match is on.

Since Stone tagged out of her trip, we’ve seen some serious action in the ring:

1. In a typical move Chinese hackers, presumably with their own stable of heels, pulled a classic trick. They snuck a foreign object into the ring, breaking into the email accounts of top U.S. officials.

2. The Biden administration, with Hulk Hogan at the helm, is gearing up to announce rules restricting American firms from investing in many cutting-edge Chinese technology companies. They’re laying the smackdown on the Iron Sheik’s tag team partners.

3. Unleashing a flying elbow drop from the top rope, the U.S. continues to enforce a strict set of restrictions intended to hamper China’s ability to produce advanced semiconductors.

Now, the real championship belt is in the semiconductor industry. The U.S. is trying to prevent China from getting access to cutting-edge semiconductors, the heavyweight title of the digital world. By doing so, the U.S. hopes to slow China’s efforts to build advanced weapons, develop artificial intelligence, and surveil its own citizens and people in other countries. It’s a Royal Rumble, with the whole world watching.

But wait, there’s more! China has raised the alarm over the eastward expansion of NATO, accusing the alliance of meddling in affairs beyond its borders. Oh yeah, The Sheik is feeling the heat as NATO adds new members to its tag team. China vows to resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, security, and development interests, and it resolutely opposes NATO’s eastward expansion into the Asia-Pacific. The stakes are higher than Macho at peak height off the top rope.

The U.S. believes it can win the match because the semiconductor industry is a complex web of interdependence, spread all over the planet. The most advanced operations tend to be located in either the U.S. or its allies — three tag teams that have all signed on to the Oct. 7 restrictions.

So far, the semiconductor restrictions seem to be working. China is struggling to get as many advanced semiconductors as it needs and is instead trying to build up its domestic industry. But by the time they do, the U.S. and its allies hope to have won the championship.

In the world of global politics, the tower of power is too sweet to be sour. Dig it!

Mindhunterai out