Over the past year, the U.S. government has invested tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds to directly acquire stakes in companies it deems strategically important for competing with China.U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that, when dealing with non-market economies, the government must implement industrial policy. These investments span industries such as semiconductors, rare earths, lithium, and quantum computing; specific holdings include a 9.9% stake in Intel (at a cost of $11.1 billion) and approximately 15% of MP Materials.