CWP alum John Minnich speaks with LSE100 about AI, semiconductors, and US-China technological competition

June 13, 2025
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences.

Featuring Dr John Minnich (International Relations) Additional footage used under creative commons licence from IBM Research, Telx, BBC News and Bloomberg.

00:00 - Introduction

00:52 - Why are chips so important?

03:11 - What are the causes of the chip war?

06:34 - What are the impacts of the chip war?

09:02 - Is the chip war creating new geopolitical tensions?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B08VG-sidY

John Minnich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at LSE. His research focuses on the political economy of China’s technological rise and its impact on US-China relations.

His current book project looks at how domestic institutions and global production networks shaped China’s use of foreign technology transfer policies in the post-Cold War period. Other ongoing research projects examine the origins and implications of the US-China “Chip War,” the durability of weaponised interdependence, and the evolution of Chinese industrial and technology policies.

John received his PhD from MIT. Prior to joining LSE, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Columbia-Harvard China and the World Program at Columbia University and Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Centre for the Study of Contemporary China.

Photo Credit: By London School of Economics and Political Science - Own work using: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/home.aspx, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24986170

John Minnich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at LSE. His research focuses on the political economy of China’s technological rise and its impact on US-China relations.