“Shut that mouth of yours. This isn’t a place for you to butt in as you please.”
“Father, that’s not it. I just wanted to offer some advice too...”
“Who asked you for advice?”
At Donald’s sharp voice, Ivanka trembled like an aspen leaf.
During his first term, she had reigned as one of the powers behind the throne, but it had been a long time since she was pushed back to the second line. There were many reasons, but the biggest was her lack of ability.
However, she had still inherited her father’s meddlesome, attention-loving personality, and because of that, she had caused trouble again today.
“Undersecretary Thomas. Step out for a moment. I’d like to speak with people I’m comfortable with.”
After sending away the senior officials of the Department of Commerce, Donald emptied another Zero Coke.
“Lutnick, what do you think?”
“...Undersecretary Thomas’s words seem to have a point. Rather than letting China build its own AI ecosystem, it would be better to incorporate them into ours.”
“Even so, those bastards are still a bunch of amateurs. They probably haven’t even reached half of our technological level yet. Isn’t it too much to worry that they’ll build an AI ecosystem?”
Lutnick spoke with a troubled expression.
“Mr. President... that is not the case.”
“What?”
“According to recent analyses by international rating agencies and global investment firms, if we consider the United States to be at 100, they’ve already caught up to about 90.”
“What, what?”
“The fact that they hold such a massive domestic market is frightening as well.”
“Why on earth! Computing chips have been components we’ve controlled with our eyes wide open since Bidon’s time. How the hell did they manage that?”
Lutnick smiled bitterly.
“I don’t know whether to call it fortunate or unfortunate... but it seems the effect of our export controls has already become nominal at best. According to our Commerce Department’s calculations, a considerable number of computing chips, including H200s, have already been smuggled into China.”
Lutnick thought this was, if anything, a relief.
If China had truly developed an innovative computing chip and caught up this far in technology, it would have been a disaster. Fortunately, however, it appeared that smuggled computing chips had flowed into China, which suggested that although they had caught up in AI, they still had not caught up in their own chips.
So they had to loosen the restrictions now.
The United States had already hounded its allies like searching for lice in order to block indirect exports, but it had been proven impossible.
“But Lutnick, that could be a shortsighted decision. China is an extremely petty planned-economy state. No matter how good our AI technology is, they’ll probably ban it from being used in their country. Like Goggle and WebTube.”
“Yes, that is our assessment as well.”
“And yet you want us to supply our latest chips to bastards like that? When there’s no possibility they’ll become our customers?”
“With all due respect, it is precisely for that reason that I believe computing chip controls will be all the more meaningless.”
“What?”
Lutnick spoke as if he had made up his mind.
“With AI recently becoming a hot topic, global society is paying more attention to personal information than ever before. But China is the country furthest from anything ‘private.’ What country’s citizens would use a Chinese program for such an important cutting-edge information business? Like Huawei and Xiaomi, it will ultimately become a product for domestic consumption.”
“No one will use AI made by them?”
“Yes. That is why it would be better to at least sell them the chips. No matter how much China’s AI advances, as long as China’s national brand continues to crawl along the ground like it is now, it will never become a threat to our rice bowl.”
Donald fell into thought for a while.
Recently, after declaring a tariff war on China, he had realized something. China’s protectionism was as solid as an impregnable fortress...
When the United States imposed tariffs on automobiles, those bastards stopped illegal imports. When the United States imposed tariffs on manufacturing, they responded with rare earths. Their walls had been far sturdier than he had expected.
But now that they had entered the age of AI, that fortress was turning into a giant prison. China’s unique controlled and surveilled society was provoking wariness among major nations.
Accordingly, although China’s AI technology had caught up considerably to the United States, not a single major country had yet officially adopted Chinese AI.
Just as Xiaomi, which had seemed poised to conquer market share in no time with a half-price strategy, failed to gain traction in the global market, many rating agencies predicted that China’s AI would not be able to cross its borders.
“Dad, I think Secretary Lutnick is right about this.”
While he was deep in serious thought, Ivanka once again cut in without reading the room.
“I don’t know much about this field, but products made in China feel unpleasant somehow. Like someone is constantly watching me, peering into my private life? Even if it’s something as small as a phone case or a mouse, I feel uneasy if it’s made in China. Who would use Chinese AI or a Chinese phone? China is no match for us at all.”
Donald barely held back his anger and said,
“Lutnick, leave us for a moment.”
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Lutnick dashed out so fast his legs were almost invisible.
When only the two of them remained, Donald asked,
“My dear. Did I not just say it? That when your father is discussing something important, you are not to interrupt.”
“Father, if you act like this now, I’m hurt too.”
“Hurt?”
“During your first administration, who helped you the most, both materially and emotionally? I even gave up my own business and worked solely for your success. But in your second term, how can you treat me like cold leftovers?”
“Wasn’t that something you did because you wanted to?”
“Father!”
“Fine. Since I do owe you something from the past, I’ll listen to you for five minutes. What could someone like you, who probably couldn’t even install Windows on your own, possibly want to say about AI?”
Ivanka did not pass up the opportunity.
“Sell chips to China. A whole, whole lot of them. Like Lutnick said, let’s make those bastards use ours before they build an AI ecosystem. Then we can make a ton of money.”
“How strange. I’ve watched you for decades, but this is the first time I’ve seen you speak so passionately about AI. Why did you suddenly become a programmer?”
“That’s...”
Donald glared at Ivanka and pointed to the nape of her neck.
“That’s a brooch I haven’t seen before. It looks quite impressive. Where did you buy it?”
“Ah, this is...”
“The ring on our daughter’s fourth finger has changed too, hasn’t it? Where did that enormous diamond come from?”
“F-Father...”
Before Ivanka could launch into anything else, Donald quickly gestured for her to be quiet.
“You don’t know where it was bought, do you? Because you received it as a gift. Isn’t that right?”
“...”
“Banka. Listen carefully to what your father is about to say. Never again interrupt when your father is speaking. No, never again even think of setting foot in this White House. Leave right now, and tell Lutnick to come back in.”
“F-Father!”
“Unfortunately, Melania recently suggested we rewrite the prenuptial agreement. Something about Barron’s share being too small compared to his other siblings... If you care so much about me, can you give up your share to your younger brother for your father’s sake?”
Understanding his meaning, Ivanka immediately shut her mouth.
“That’s nice to hear. My daughter is pretty when she’s quiet. Go on out now.”
Left alone in the Oval Office, Donald stroked his chin and muttered.
“China... China.”
*
[Breaking News — U.S. Department of Commerce: “H200 Chip Exports to China to Resume”]
[The End of U.S.-China Trade Conflict? Commerce Department Lifts Computing Chip Restrictions!]
[Lutnick: “The United States Still Holds the Advantage in AI Technology; Chinese Authorities Must Also Lift Corresponding Protectionism”]
One day, after Christmas had faded and the sun of the new year had risen.
News flying in from the White House struck the global stock market.
Defying everyone’s expectations, the Donald administration, which until then had been busy snarling whenever it so much as made eye contact with China, had decided to resume H200 chip exports to China.
—Put aside your useless worries. We have an even greater chip than that. Blackwell. Going forward, our United States will continue to lead the global market with even more innovative technology. As long as power doesn’t pass to the Democrats, that is.
Donald responded to the waterfall of reporters’ questions with great composure.
He conveniently left out the fact that China had already secured a considerable number of computing chips, as well as the part about doing this for the sake of a U.S.-led AI ecosystem.
As a result, the stock prices of Big Tech began to fluctuate wildly, but Korea had no leisure to pay attention to stock markets on the other side of the globe.
[Breaking News — Envidi to Supply Blackwell to Korea!]
[Jackson Huang: “Korea and Envidi Have a Special Relationship; We Consider Them a Very Special Partner With Whom We Can Develop Mutually”]
Amid concerns of a supply shortage due to the resumption of exports to China, CEO Huang announced that he would specially provide GPU chips to Korea. And not just any chips, but Blackwell chips, the most cutting-edge chips available.
At present, Korea’s AI ecosystem could be called crude, with even its H200s numbering only in the thousands, but with this Blackwell supply contract, that weakness would be remedied in one stroke.
[Breaking News — KOSPI Enters the 5,000s!]
[Is the Era of KOSPI 6,000 Next? AI-Related Stocks, Including Semiconductors, Surge!]
Watching the news of the supply contract, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, our country was not lacking in talent. The fact that we had managed to raise our AI competitiveness to third place with just two thousand H200s said everything. We had the talent; we simply hadn’t had pencils and notebooks.
The Blackwell that CEO Huang had promised was the newest chip, with specs roughly two or three times ahead of the H200. With specs like that, we could sufficiently make up for the technological gap that had opened up.
—Knock, knock.
Just as I leaned back in my chair with a drained expression, Manager Oh came to my office.
“You remarkable bastard. What a truly remarkable bastard.”
Manager Oh, who had been pulling all-nighters recently because of the AI bubble theory, looked bright for the first time in a while.
It was because the Blackwell supply had sent KOSPI and Nave’s stock price soaring day after day.
“Skill is one thing, but you really are lucky. To think Envidi would supply Blackwell. No, did you perhaps see even this coming?”
“...There’s no way. Blackwell is a chip even Big Tech companies have to line up for, so I thought there wouldn’t be any volume for us. Thankfully, we got lucky.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Why did they give us the supply that was originally supposed to go to Big Tech? How on earth did they change the order?”
I scratched my head and said,
“It must be Chairman Kim Seokhun.”
“Chairman Kim?”
“Yes. I heard through the grapevine that he did quite a bit of lobbying in the United States.”
“What kind of lobbying, and how? No, who on earth would you have to lobby for this picture to be possible? With a GPU supply shortage expected due to resumed exports to China, Envidi gives us GPUs at this perfectly exquisite timing? And Blackwell, at that?”
I shrugged.
“Maybe Chairman Kim offered an incredibly generous price.”
“Hmm... Blackwell isn’t a chip you can buy just because you have some money right now.”
Tilting his head, Manager Oh handed me some documents.
“Anyway, take this.”
“What is it?”
“Materials for the APEC meeting next week. It’ll be a full gathering, from all kinds of investment firms to corporate CEOs, so you’ll have to go to Gyeongju as the representative of our headquarters.”