For the U.S. and China, a Technology Cold War That’s Freezing Over
- 6 years ago
For the U.S. and China, a Technology Cold War That’s Freezing Over
The “Eight Guardian Warriors,” as they were called — Apple, Cisco, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle
and Qualcomm — had been able to “drive right into China,” the article said, whereas Huawei and another Chinese equipment maker, ZTE, had been kept out of the United States.
“The U. S. and China have so intertwined their science and technology systems through trade and investment and cooperative research —
but see each other, and continue to see each other, as strategic competitors and adversaries,” said Adam Segal, a tech and security expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
And espionage concerns have for years kept Huawei — one of the world’s biggest suppliers of telecom gear,
and a powerhouse of China’s tech scene — largely out of the American market.
“So there’s no way to kick this can down the road anymore.”
Still, as much as American companies complain about how they are treated in China, it could get even worse
if Beijing amplifies its retaliation beyond the tariffs, announced Friday, on $3 billion worth of goods.
China could require that foreign tech companies undergo costly additional tests
for new products, or simply make it more difficult to operate in the country.
Recent tit-for-tat trade actions could deepen what has become a global contest for technological dominance between the United States
and China, home to the planet’s largest population of internet users and a flourishing community of start-ups and innovative companies.
The “Eight Guardian Warriors,” as they were called — Apple, Cisco, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle
and Qualcomm — had been able to “drive right into China,” the article said, whereas Huawei and another Chinese equipment maker, ZTE, had been kept out of the United States.
“The U. S. and China have so intertwined their science and technology systems through trade and investment and cooperative research —
but see each other, and continue to see each other, as strategic competitors and adversaries,” said Adam Segal, a tech and security expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
And espionage concerns have for years kept Huawei — one of the world’s biggest suppliers of telecom gear,
and a powerhouse of China’s tech scene — largely out of the American market.
“So there’s no way to kick this can down the road anymore.”
Still, as much as American companies complain about how they are treated in China, it could get even worse
if Beijing amplifies its retaliation beyond the tariffs, announced Friday, on $3 billion worth of goods.
China could require that foreign tech companies undergo costly additional tests
for new products, or simply make it more difficult to operate in the country.
Recent tit-for-tat trade actions could deepen what has become a global contest for technological dominance between the United States
and China, home to the planet’s largest population of internet users and a flourishing community of start-ups and innovative companies.