Tech Diplomacy Now: Tech War Between China and the United States Escalates
After years of anticipation, the Chinese Government escalated its technology war with the United States by announcing a ban on Apple smartphones
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Top News of the Week
Announcements
Latest News
Technology Strategy and Policy
Artificial Intelligence
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
Critical Minerals
Synthetic Biology
Quantum
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Energy and Climate
Opinion and Commentary
Top News of the Week – Tech War Between China and the United States Escalates
After years of anticipation, the Chinese Government escalated its technology war with the United States by announcing a ban on Apple smartphones last week. This comes immediately after Huawei released a new smartphone that purportedly contains a semiconductor produced in China that circumvents the export controls imposed by the U.S. Commerce Department.
These actions are coming on the heels of a Chinese Government cyber-attack on the Commerce Department’s email system, the Commerce Secretary’s visit to China, and a significant debate within the United States between the federal government and the private sector over finalizing more restrictive technology controls on Beijing.
Needless to say, the Chinese Government is very concerned and wants to deter any further restrictions on its own technological development.
Simultaneously, Xi Jinping skipped the G20 Summit in New Delhi where he could have met with President Biden and allowed his intelligence service to suggest that Xi might also refuse to attend the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit hosted by President Biden in San Francisco this November. According to a statement from the Ministry for State Security’s WeChat account, Xi’s attendance will depend on the United States “showing sufficient sincerity.”
What remains to be seen is whether the United States Government will follow through with stronger restrictions or backdown in the face of pressure, giving Beijing an even greater opportunity to close the technology gap.
More background:
China Bans iPhone Use for Government Officials at Work – WSJ, September 6, 2023
Chinese Warnings on iPhones Tap Deep Strain of Security Concerns – NYTs, September 11, 2023
Huawei Phone Is Latest Shot Fired in the U.S.-China Tech War – Ana Swanson, NYTs, September 6, 2023
Apple suppliers slide on China anxiety, threat from Huawei – Reuters, September 8, 2023
SK Hynix Investigating Use of Its Chips in New Huawei Phone – Bloomberg, September 7, 2023
Huawei Chip Shows US Curbs Are Porous, Not Useless – Tim Culpan, Bloomberg, September 4, 2023
Announcements
This morning the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy hosted an exclusive, wide-ranging conversation with both the Republican and Democratic leaders of the bipartisan Select Committee on China.
Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) joined the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue for an important conversation on the intersection and future of diplomacy, technology and freedom.
UPCOMING WEBINAR: Please join the Global Tech Security Commission (GTSC) on September 27 at 2:00pm ET for a virtual panel discussion on the how the US and its allies should think about and counter Beijing’s ambitions to modernize its military through Military-Civil Fusion.
China’s defense sector is largely controlled by state-owned enterprises insulated from its commercial economy. However, Beijing has increasingly sought to bolster its military capabilities and modernize the People’s Liberation Army through its civilian sectors.
A key pillar of these efforts, Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) encourages Chinese civilian companies to acquire and pass along to defense firms dual-use technologies from foreign sources rather than developing them indigenously (through both legal and illegal means). MCF has had mixed success and has largely relegated the civilian tech sector as a pass-through entity rather than serving as the source of technology and expertise. Nonetheless, Beijing is likely to continue using MCF to advance its military ambitions, and Washington and its allies must therefore pay close attention to it.
This discussion will examine Beijing’s MCF practices and help shine a light on the extent to which MCF is succeeding. It will also offer insights on how the US and its allies and partners can best counter MCF.
Latest News
US Diplomat’s Protocol-Busting China Swipe Stirs Controversy – Bloomberg, September 8, 2023
China Is Full of Risks. So Why Can’t Corporate America Leave? – NYTs, September 8, 2023
Romania Rejected Communism. It Should Reject Communist 5G - Newsweek Romania, September 14, 2023
Technology Strategy and Policy
Google's Former CEO Is Leveraging His $27 Billion Fortune to Shape AI Policy – Bloomberg, September 8, 2023
‘How am I in this war?’: New Musk biography offers fresh details about the billionaire’s Ukraine dilemma – CNN, September 7, 2023
There’s a ‘tech war’ brewing between the U.S. and China that will split the world into 2 camps, Palantir senior policy advisor warns – Fortune, September 8, 2023
The International Criminal Court Will Now Prosecute Cyberwar Crimes – Wired, September 7, 2023
Artificial Intelligence
In U.S.-China AI contest, the race is on to deploy killer robots – Reuters, September 8, 2023
Wikipedia’s Moment of Truth – NYTs Magazine, September 8, 2023
Experts alone can’t handle AI – social scientists explain why the public needs a seat at the table – The Conversation, September 5, 2023
The AI Tools Making Images Look Better – Quanta Magazine, August 23, 2023
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
China wants metaverse firms with ‘global influence’ and plans for up to 5 industrial clusters by 2025 – SCMP, September 10, 2023
Apple faces tough test with iPhone 15 launch in China amid government use ban and as Huawei fights back with Mate 60 Pro – SCMP, September 9, 2023
Hackers stole Microsoft signing key from Windows crash dump – Bleeping Computer, September 6, 2023
Critical Minerals
Exclusive from The Electric: A Leading Chinese Nickel Producer Tries Its Luck in the U.S. – The Information, September 7, 2023
Critical Minerals and Materials: List-o-Mania – SAFE, September 7, 2023
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023 – USGS, January 2023
Synthetic Biology
The Evolution of AI in Drug Discovery Sector – Where Tech Meets Bio, September 7, 2023
Can Cotton Grown Inside Bioreactors Become a Sustainable Reality In The Future? – SynBioBeta, September 4, 2023
Quantum
Physicists Observe ‘Unobservable’ Quantum Phase Transition – Quanta Magazine, September 11, 2023
Quantum information science is rarely taught in high school – here’s why that matters – The Conversation, September 11, 2023
Chinese scientists say physics breakthrough is a step towards scalable quantum computation – SCMP, September 10, 2023
The Cryptographer Who Ensures We Can Trust Our Computers – Quanta Magazine, July 27, 2023
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Air Force needs to clarify its goals for space technology acquisition – Federal News Network, September 11, 2023
San Diego-based destroyer USS Zumwalt to be outfitted with new hypersonic missiles – San Diego Union Tribune, September 6, 2023
Japan unveils defense budget, seeking hypersonics, frigates, F-35s – Defense News, August 31, 2023
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
US Probes Made-in-China Chip as Tensions Flare Over Technology – Bloomberg, September 7, 2023
China Seeks to Tie Chip Access to Climate Action in G-20 Talks – Bloomberg, September 7, 2023
Energy and Climate
US Rejects China’s Bid to Hold Climate ‘Hostage’ Over Chips – Bloomberg, September 7, 2023
Chinese EV battery maker Eve joins hands with partners including Daimler Truck to set up a US$2.6 billion US plant – SCMP, September 8, 2023
Toyota, a Hybrid Pioneer, Struggles to Master Electric Vehicles – NYTs, September 7, 2023
Opinion and Commentary
You hate AI for all the right reasons. Now reconsider. – Josh Tyrangiel, Washington Post, September 10, 2023
‘Defending democracy’ a losing strategy against authoritarian narratives – Chris Zappone, The Strategist, September 1, 2023
Revisiting the Hedge Strategy with Renewed Urgency – Michael Brown and Rear Admiral (ret) Lorin Selby, War on the Rocks, September 7, 202
About: Tech Diplomacy Now
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is the world’s preeminent trusted technology accelerator. As the leader of the new category of Tech Diplomacy, the Institute integrates technology expertise, Silicon Valley strategies, and foreign policy tools to build the Global Trusted Tech Network of governments, companies, organizations and individuals to accelerate the innovation and adoption of trusted technology and ensure technology advances freedom.