From Phoenix to the World: How Chips Are Redrawing the Map of Global Connectivity
by Dr. Lily McElwee, President & CEO, Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations
Lufthansa’s recent announcement of a new nonstop route between Phoenix and Munich, beginning in August 2027, marks another milestone in Arizona’s growing international connectivity. The service will join new nonstop connections to Taipei launched by China Airlines and STARLUX in December 2025 and January 2026, respectively, while murmurings of a future direct route to Tokyo persist. Together, these developments raise an interesting question: What is driving the emergence of new international air links between regions historically outside the world’s major aviation gateways?
At least part of the answer lies in the changing geography of semiconductor manufacturing.
In December 2022, TSMC founder Morris Chang declared that “globalization is almost dead,” as the Taiwanese semiconductor giant prepared to expand its manufacturing presence in Arizona. His remarks reflected growing efforts by governments to reduce strategic economic dependencies and bring critical technology production home or to trusted partners.
Yet an unexpected consequence of these policies is emerging. Rather than end globalization, the geographic diversification of semiconductor production is creating brand new connections between previously less-connected regions, from Arizona to Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture and Germany’s Silicon Saxony.
Arizona offers a striking illustration. TSMC’s expanding investment in North Phoenix, alongside a growing network of Taiwanese suppliers, has fundamentally transformed the state’s economic relationship with Taiwan, which became Arizona’s largest trading partner in 2025. Japan was also Arizona’s biggest source of foreign direct investment that year, while trade with South Korea has grown dramatically.
These changing relationships are increasingly visible in the skies. China Airlines and STARLUX explicitly linked their decisions to launch Phoenix–Taipei service to Arizona’s emergence as a semiconductor manufacturing hub. Within eight months, the airlines had established seven weekly round-trip flights, carrying more than 100,000 passengers combined since launch.
Similar developments are unfolding elsewhere. In Japan, TSMC’s investment in Kumamoto has helped drive a dramatic expansion in air connectivity with Taiwan. New nonstop routes now link Kumamoto not only to Taipei, but also to Taiwan’s semiconductor centers of Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Taichung. In Europe, China Airlines and STARLUX have strategically expanded service between Taipei and Prague (representing STARLUX’s European debut), which serves as an international gateway to Dresden’s “Silicon Saxony” semiconductor cluster. Indeed, China Airlines now operates a dedicated shuttle connecting Prague Airport directly with Dresden’s main railway station.
The implications extend beyond passenger travel. Semiconductor manufacturing relies on the rapid movement of high-value equipment, materials, and components. In October 2026, Japan Airlines and Nippon Express launched a new freighter service linking Los Angeles, Tokyo, Taipei, and Singapore, explicitly citing semiconductor- and AI-related cargo demand.
These developments reveal a striking paradox. Governments and companies are seeking greater economic resilience by diversifying semiconductor production and reducing strategic dependencies. Yet in doing so, they are generating new flows of investment, goods, and people across borders. Morris Chang may have declared globalization’s end, but the changing map of international aviation tells a more complicated story.
Editor’s note: This brief is a summary adapted from a forthcoming, longer article by Dr. Lily McElwee to be published by the Bertelsmann Foundation.
