"Varney & Co." host Stuart Varney discussed the importance of Biden's leadership following House Speaker Pelosi's Taiwan visit, arguing the president "can't afford to look weak" as U.S.-China tensions remain high.
STUART VARNEY: Speaker Pelosi was in Taiwan for just 19 hours, but she set off a crisis that’s only just beginning.
A weakened President Biden now has to deal with it.
The Chinese military has established six live-fire zones, surrounding Taiwan.
Aggressive air and naval forces are now the closest they've ever been to the island.
Sure looks like practice for a blockade, or even an invasion. It’s certainly extreme intimidation.
No-one knows how this thing will develop.
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China is unwilling to back off: Xi Jinping can't afford to lose face right before the election that he hopes will make him president for life.
And Biden can't back off either. After Afghanistan, he can't afford to look weak.
Looks like high-stakes tension that runs on and on...
But there's one thing that is happening because of the threats to Taiwan.
The all-important chip industry is on the move.
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That’s an industry dominated by Taiwan semiconductor, which manufactures half of all the world's computer chips.
At her news conference, Speaker Pelosi said "significant" Taiwanese businesses "are already planning to invest in manufacturing in the United States."
It was only a 19-hour visit, but the speaker found time to meet Mark Liu, the Chairman of Taiwan semiconductor.
Good. The world can't run without Taiwan’s chips.
It’s now Biden who has to deal with the aftermath of the Pelosi visit.
