A memorial statue for the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in Kinmen, Taiwan.
Photographer: An Rong Xu/Bloomberg
Xi, Biden and the $10 Trillion Cost of War Over Taiwan
Taiwan’s election highlights the potential for a conflict that would decimate the global economy.
War over Taiwan would have a cost in blood and treasure so vast that even those unhappiest with the status quo have reason not to risk it. Bloomberg Economics estimate the price tag at around $10 trillion, equal to about 10% of global GDP — dwarfing the blow from the war in Ukraine, Covid pandemic and Global Financial Crisis.
China’s rising economic and military heft, Taiwan’s burgeoning sense of national identity, and fractious relations between Beijing and Washington mean the conditions for a crisis are in place. With cross-Strait relations on the ballot, Taiwan’s Jan. 13 election is a potential flashpoint.