Kuala Lampur, Aug. 25 -- When the world's most advanced semiconductor manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), quietly announced that it would cease using Chinese-made equipment in its cutting-edge two-nanometre production lines, the decision did not just reverberate across the technology sector.

It symbolised the sharpened fault lines of Cold War II - a confrontation not defined by nuclear warheads and ideology, but by microchips, supply chains, and digital arteries of power.

On the surface, the United States and China have presented the illusion of a truce, extending tariff freezes and hinting at a newfound stability in their dyadic relationship.

This gives an impression that, unlike Washington's harsh imposit...