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If the Chinese government has control of 50% of the mining equipment that exists, it can potentially execute a 51% attack against bitcoin. Much of the production of ASICs is done in China, so the Chinese government could seize outgoing shipments of miners as they are being shipped overseas, and the Chinese government could force mining manufacturers to produce additional ASICs for the Chinese government. There is also a chip shortage worldwide, so manufacturers outside of China are going to have problems with production.
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Well one must remember that the only 51% attack they can do that anyone would care about would be to control a % of what transactions are confirmed.If the Chinese government has control of 50% of the mining equipment that exists, it can potentially execute a 51% attack against bitcoin. Much of the production of ASICs is done in China, so the Chinese government could seize outgoing shipments of miners as they are being shipped overseas, and the Chinese government could force mining manufacturers to produce additional ASICs for the Chinese government. There is also a chip shortage worldwide, so manufacturers outside of China are going to have problems with production.
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So while that is indeed an issue, it's not a case of what many seem to think that a large mining cartel could change the rules of Bitcoin - coz they can't - doing that just produces an altcoin.
However, since the ASIC chips used in miners are made in Taiwan, not China, I suspect that China invading Taiwan to make this happen would have much more far reaching effects than just Bitcoin
