【By Observer News, Wang Yi】According to a report by the U.S. "Wall Street Journal" on December 4, Japanese SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son once painted a "Silicon Valley of the U.S." industrial park project for U.S. President Trump this summer - a semiconductor manufacturing plant, packaging and testing factory, processing plant, as well as housing for workers and managers in an area comparable in size to Los Angeles, filled with robots.

After hearing Son's proposal, Trump decided to take it further, using the investment funds promised by the Japanese government in the trade agreement, to build "Trump-branded" industrial parks across the United States on federal land, to produce artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure components.

However, according to the report, Son's blueprint is "nearly science fiction," facing many obstacles, and even the blueprint may be difficult to realize. The project is likely to require funding far exceeding the amount of Japan's promised investment, and the details of federal land use permits, factory construction companies, and factory operators need more detailed planning.

The report said that Son has long wanted SoftBank to lead the AI and robotics revolution, but he missed the opportunity in early investments in generative AI companies. To compensate for this, he committed to invest $30 billion in OpenAI this year and established a deep partnership, and deliberately maintained close relations with the Trump administration, positioning himself as a key supporter of the agenda to promote U.S. domestic high-tech manufacturing and ensure AI leadership.

According to insiders, since this spring, Son has promoted a concept called "Crystal Land Plan" within SoftBank at multiple meetings to senior officials including U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, planning to build an industrial city worth $1 trillion in the desert north of Phoenix, Arizona, similar to a "U.S. Shenzhen." In the summer, he directly introduced this project to Trump himself.

Insiders said that Son's proposal was ambitious and almost sci-fi. He described a blueprint to the Trump: in an area comparable to Los Angeles, there would be semiconductor manufacturing plants, chip packaging factories, processing plants, and housing for workers and managers.

Son is not the first person to try to learn from the "Shenzhen model." Last year, Bloomberg reported that Singapore and Malaysia planned to collaborate to turn part of Johor State in southern Malaysia into a "Shenzhen-style super hub." Before that, Johor State Chief Minister Onn Hafiz personally led a delegation to Shenzhen to "learn from it" and expressed his hope that Johor would become the Shenzhen of Southeast Asia.

It was revealed that Son also discussed incorporating the project into Trump's 2024 campaign plan "Free Cities," during which the Trump administration was considering issuing an executive order to advance the plan, but the progress has now slowed down.

On April 30 local time, Son spoke at the "Invest in America" conference, with Trump listening behind him. Visual China

After a series of meetings, the project blueprint changed. A U.S. official said that the government no longer planned to build a single large-scale development project, but instead began promoting a series of "Trump Industrial Parks" to build manufacturing infrastructure on federal land. Subsequently, Son proposed an updated version of the "Crystal Land Plan" based on these discussions, removing the futuristic robot and residential projects, and the first phase of the proposed project will use the investment funds promised by the Japanese government in the trade agreement signed in July.

In July, the U.S. and Japan reached a trade agreement, reducing the "mutual tariff" on Japan from 25% to 15%. In exchange, Japan pledged to provide $550 billion in investments in key industries in the U.S., purchase 100 Boeing aircraft, immediately increase the purchase of U.S. rice by 75%, among other commitments.

The investment areas promised by Japan include energy, semiconductor manufacturing, and shipbuilding, and the U.S. has the right to decide where the funds are invested, and retains 90% of the profits from the project after Japan recovers its investment. A situation statement released by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in October showed that Japanese companies such as SoftBank and Toshiba are willing to start projects in the U.S. in the fields of energy, AI, and critical minerals under the $550 billion investment mechanism.

These projects overlap highly with Son's "Crystal Land Plan." According to insiders, Trump has expressed support in principle for Son's idea, and the first batch of funds may start flowing as early as early 2026, but the two sides are still discussing.

A White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, said in a statement, "The relationship between President Trump and business leaders from various industries and regions plays a key role in ensuring billions of dollars in investment to build the next golden age for the U.S."

According to insiders, although the details are still changing, the current project includes: multiple factory clusters driven by SoftBank, producing fiber optics, cables, data center equipment, eventually expanding to AI chips. Japanese technology companies will provide extensive technical support, and once these facilities are built, they will belong to the U.S. federal government.

In the first phase of the project, Son has already contacted Japanese electronics companies such as Toshiba, Murata Manufacturing, and Fujikura, hoping they will commit to investing in the manufacturing of data center infrastructure. The topics of discussion include the production of transformers, fiber optics, power modules, and other hardware needed to support large computing clusters. A Toshiba spokesperson said the company maintains broad discussions with SoftBank and is open to exploring cooperation. Murata Manufacturing and Fujikura did not respond to requests for comments.

Some insiders revealed that in the future, Son plans to build chip manufacturing plants to compete with companies currently dominating the industry in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. However, SoftBank invited TSMC to join the "Crystal Land Plan," but TSMC had no interest in participating.

The Wall Street Journal commented that the plan still faces many obstacles, and even the blueprint is difficult to realize, but it carries the typical style of Son. This "speculator" in the Silicon Valley cycle is known for making big bets when the market is hot, and his early investments in companies like Yahoo and Alibaba brought him hundreds of billions of dollars in profits, but he also experienced heavy losses like WeWork.

The paper pointed out that even after revisions, whether Son's plan can be implemented remains unclear, which may require massive funding outside Japan, as well as federal land use permits, and more complete planning to clarify the content of factory production and the construction parties. Like another $50 billion data center plan announced by SoftBank with OpenAI this January, it has yet to start. Moreover, the revenue of AI companies has not grown in tandem with the surge in data center investments, raising concerns among investors about the formation of an AI infrastructure bubble.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7580366072113807923/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.