• US-China tensions have run high over Taiwan following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

• A leading economist urged Beijing to seize chipmaker TSMC if the West hits China with sanctions.

• China views chipmaking as an industry to buffer its economy from trade tensions with the US.

A top Chinese economist said that if the US imposes crippling sanctions on China, Beijing must retaliate by seizing Apple's iPhone chip supplier in Taiwan.

"Should the US and the West impose devastating sanctions on China just like how they did to Russia, we must reclaim Taiwan," Chen Wenling, chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), said during an online forum discussing US-China relations on May 30. The CCIEE is managed by China's National Development and Reform Commission, a state agency that oversees China's economic development.

"Especially when we're talking about production and supply chains, we must seize corporations that rightfully belong to China, such as TSMC," Chen added, referring to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the chip manufacturer that Apple relies on for its iPhones. TSMC is expected to make $17 billion in revenue this year from Apple alone, according to MacRumors.

"TSMC is speeding up its transfer to the US with six factories planned in America. We must not allow it to achieve its aim," she said.

In May last year, Reuters reported that TSMC was looking to build as many as six plants in the US. TSMC's spokesperson confirmed to Insider that "Phase One" of its US-based production plan was in motion.

Chen did not elaborate on why or when she thought the US would sanction China. However, in mentioning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she was likely echoing how Asian governments were now more sensitive to potential conflicts in the region because of Russia's war.

China has long viewed self-governing Taiwan as part of its territory, and Beijing often puts on displays of military might to flex its strength in the region. Taiwan has consistently rejected China's claims and maintains its independence.