Can China's IT sector become independent?

DW (English)

China wants to finally break free from its dependence on the US IT sector. That's why, among other things, its governmental authorities are no longer supposed to use foreign hardware. But can the country really achieve this goal, and at what cost?

Transcript

00:00China doesn't want any foreign hardware in its public authorities.

00:03China is building a more nationalistic approach as the chip controls continue to increase.

00:10And that could have far-reaching consequences.

00:13Many people call it a tech Cold War.

00:17Where will this ultimately lead? And why will the military play a decisive role?

00:22China's public authorities are still using hardware and software from the West.

00:27Replacing it with Chinese products is a priority. But what is behind this?

00:32China has been trying to replace Western technology for a pretty long time.

00:37Partly because of the Snowden leaks and what it revealed around US espionage with US technology.

00:44But is it technically possible?

00:49Especially graphics processing units, the things the US is now restricting from exporting to China.

00:54Those are one of the hot points where there will still be problems.

00:59And in addition, of course, Chinese companies can choose Chinese products,

01:05even if they're not as good as foreign products, as long as they're good enough to do what you need to be doing.

01:13And how is the US reacting? In a word, tick-tock.

01:17The US government is demanding that it be sold to an American company.

01:21Otherwise, they are threatening to ban it from US app stores.

01:25The US wants to protect user data from being accessed by the Chinese authorities.

01:30Then there's NVIDIA. The US manufacturer's most advanced high-tech chips are not allowed to be sold to China.

01:38The goal is to deny China access to the latest high-tech.

01:42US companies are being threatened with stiff penalties.

01:47If China is able to move even a handful of percentage points off of US-based semiconductors,

01:54for instance, to do semiconductors that can be developed and built in China,

01:59that will mean billions of dollars of revenue for these US-based companies.

02:04No company wants to be locked out of the lucrative Chinese market.

02:09Of course, you're seeing the US-based companies are continually playing a bit of a cat and mouse game with the US

02:16and with China to build semiconductors that fall beneath the regulations,

02:19so that they are able to ship product into China.

02:23Having said that, with more and more pressure, those bars continue to be moved.

02:29China, therefore, wants to catch up technologically, quickly.

02:33It's pumping up its startups with the equivalent of billions of euros,

02:37especially in China's Silicon Valley to the north of Beijing.

02:41Because whoever has the most powerful IT will also have the strongest army in the future.

02:48What we are seeing is China making progress.

02:50We know they're willing to invest to almost no end,

02:53because this isn't just about a little bit of a geopolitical tension.

02:57This is about global economic leadership in technology and in AI.

03:01And AI is going to be the most important front in which economics are fought

03:06in terms of a battle for domination globally over the next two, three decades.

03:12China is still behind.

03:14But if it were to play a leading role in AI,

03:16it would also be able to sell its IT products and applications abroad.

03:22I am totally convinced we're going towards two ecosystems.

03:25And the question is, I mean, beyond China's huge economies of scale,

03:31given the size of the country, can they impose their standards, their systems beyond borders?

03:38And I think that's a big fight.

03:41The US versus China.

03:43Experts believe it will be several years, however,

03:46before the Chinese are technologically on par.

Category

Transcript

Recommended