Tech Diplomacy Now: US-China Space Rivalry
The Chinese Government is rapidly playing catch-up to the United States in a competition over leadership on space for both commercial and national security purposes.
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The Last Word
Keith Krach Discusses US-China Competition with The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin
Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue Chairman Keith Krach joined Josh Rogin, Washington Post Intelligence Lead Global Security Analyst, for an in-depth conversation about the Trump Administration’s approach to China by leveraging tariffs, protecting American investors and our capital markets through the America First Investment Policy, TSMC’s new $100 billion investment in US-based semiconductor manufacturing ($165 billion to date), the urgency for corporate boards and CEOs to develop a “China Contingency Plan,” and the global momentum toward the innovation and adoption of trusted tech.
Read the WP Intelligence Report.
Tech Take: America First Investment Policy
Roger Robinson, former Senior Director of the U.S. National Security Council and the Capital Markets Commissioner on the Global Tech Security Commission, discusses the Trump Administration’s America First Investment Policy seeking to limit U.S. investments to and from China in tech sectors vital to national security.
Top News of the Week – The US-China Tech Rivalry in Space
The Chinese Government is rapidly playing catch-up to the United States in a competition over leadership on space for both commercial and national security purposes.
Key Points:
The success of SpaceX in both providing commercial space launch as well as commercial telecommunications services has spurred the Chinese Government (and American commercial competitors) to accelerate their plans.
Last year, the Chinese Government devoted significant resources to aiding its growing commercial space industry to launch a mega-constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.
As both the United States and China (as well as commercial companies) compete for projects to the moon and beyond, this will become an ever more important aspect of the Sino-American cold war.
More on Background:
Eric Schmidt Joins Relativity Space, a Rocket Start-Up, as C.E.O. – NYTs, March 10, 2025
Chinese rivals to Musk's Starlink accelerate race to dominate satellite internet – Reuters, February 24, 2025
China launches fourth batch of Thousand Sails megaconstellation satellites – SpaceNews, January 23, 2025
China's Geespace launches 10 low-orbit satellites, eyeing Starlink – Reuters, September 5, 2024
Why Catching Up to Starlink Is a Priority for Beijing – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 3, 2024
China's new mega-constellation marks milestone in satellite internet – State Council of the People’s Republic of China, August 9, 2024
DIVE DEEPER: Visit the Tech Diplomacy Academy to explore the advances and opportunities in space technology, as well as the associated geopolitical complexities, competition and security concerns.
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Latest News
Chinese warships circumnavigate another island: Australia – The Economist, March 6, 2025
Chinese Ports in Panama Come Under New Management – CSIS, March 6, 2025
China will work to firmly advance 'reunification' with Taiwan, premier says – Reuters, March 4, 2025
Another High-Ranking Chinese Official Falls – Foreign Policy, March 4, 2025
Inside the FBI’s Lab Leak Investigation – Vanity Fair, February 27, 2025
Trump’s New Crackdown on China Is Just Beginning – NYTs, February 26, 2025
Technology Strategy and Policy
IBM shuts China research arm after lay-offs and revenue decline – SCMP, February 28, 2025
Huawei, Vivo, Xiaomi lead China’s smartphone sales surge fuelled by government subsidies – SCMP, February 27, 2025
Microsoft Urges Trump to Overhaul Curbs on AI Chip Exports – WSJ, February 27, 2025
Apple Will Add 20,000 US Jobs Amid Threat from Trump Tariffs – Bloomberg, February 24, 2025
Trump science policy nominee calls China most formidable technology, science competitor – SCMP, February 25, 2025
Trump Team Seeking to Toughen Biden’s Chip Controls Over China – Bloomberg, February 24, 2025
CHIPS Act dies because employees are fired – NIST CHIPS people are probationary – SemiWiki, February 23, 2025
Artificial Intelligence
Virginia Legislature Passes Comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Act – Mayer Brown, March 10, 2025
The next DeepSeek? Startup Manus becomes China's latest AI darling – Nikkei Asia, March 7, 2025
Open-source models and fresh funding: China’s AI start-ups scramble to respond to DeepSeek – SCMP, March 6, 2025
The Troubling Truth About How AI Agents Act in a Crisis – Foreign Policy, March 4, 2025
Why China may struggle to unlock the power of AI – Reuters, February 25, 2025
Huawei improves AI chip production in boost for China’s tech goals – FT, February 25, 2025
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
Administration talking to four groups about possible TikTok sale – The Hill, March 10, 2025
NATO Hunts for Sea-Cable Saboteurs but Can’t Find Proof – WSJ, March 8, 2025
TikTok hasn't negotiated with prospective buyers as deadline looms – Axios, March 6, 2025
Justice Dept. Indicts 12 Chinese in Hacking Plot Against U.S. Targets – NYTs, March 5, 2025
Censorship as a Service: Leak Reveals Public-Private Collaboration to Monitor Chinese Cyberspace – Sentinel One, February 21, 2025
Critical Minerals
Advocacy groups warn of challenges policing China-dominated supply chains – Nikkei Asia, February 28, 2025
China Cobalt Stocks Jump as Congo Exports Ban Sparks “Chaos” – Bloomberg, February 24, 2025
Refining Power – C4ADS, February 4, 2025
Synthetic Biology
A framework for effective risk assessment of AI-biotechnology convergence – Hindustan Times, March 10, 2025
China is poised to dominate biotechnology in the 21st century – The Hill, March 9, 2025
Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology: The Stanford Emerging Technology Review 2025 – Hoover Institution, February 25, 2025
50 years after a seminal conference, big questions about biotechnology remain – NPR, February 25, 2025
Synthetic biology in focus: Policy issues and opportunities in engineering life – OECD, February 24, 2025
Quantum
China's Quantum Chip is 1,000,000x faster than Google's – Building Our Future, March 10, 2025
Major Debate Continues to Swirl Around Majorana Findings – Quantum Insider, March 10, 2025
The bizarre quantum paradox of 'negative time' – BBC, March 8, 2025
As NVIDIA’s Quantum Day Nears, Analysts Suggest Event is More Than a Gesture – Quantum Insider, March 7, 2025
Memo to the President on Quantum Computing: Securing American Quantum Primacy – SCSP, February 25, 2025
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Eutelsat Seeks to Oust Starlink in Ukraine as US Pulls Back – Bloomberg, March 6, 2025
Firefly ‘Blue Ghost’ lunar lander touches down on the moon – CNN, March 2, 2025
China’s Leading Private Rocket Company Has Eye on Listing in 2028 – WSJ, February 23, 2025
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Taiwan’s President Tries to Ease Fears Over U.S. Chip Investment – NYTs, March 7, 2025
3 men charged with fraud over alleged movement of Nvidia chips get additional charge, to be remanded further – CAN, March 6, 2025
China to publish policy to boost RISC-V chip use nationwide, sources say – Reuters, March 4, 2025
Nvidia’s unofficial exports to China face scrutiny after arrest of silicon smugglers in Singapore – CNBC, March 3, 2025
Global tech industry braces for 'China shock' in mature chips – Nikkei Asia, February 26, 2025
What DeepSeek Means for AI Competition: The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning – RAND, February 24, 2025
Nvidia's H20 chip orders jump as Chinese firms adopt DeepSeek's AI models, sources say – Reuters, February 24, 2025
Energy and Climate
EU ambassador to China urges Beijing to stop building coal-fired power plants – The Guardian, March 5, 2025
How China came to dominate the world in renewable energy – WaPo, March 3, 2025
Opinion and Commentary
Germany’s Welcome New Defense Spending Plan – Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2025
Containment Can’t Win the U.S.-China Tech Race Alone – Stefanie Kam Li Yee, Foreign Policy, March 3, 2025
AI Could Usher In a New Renaissance – Eric Schmidt, WSJ, February 28, 2025
Going it Alone – Edward Fishman, The Wire China, February 26, 2025
How America Wasted Its Most Powerful Economic Weapon – Edward Fishman, The Atlantic, February 24, 2025
The AI Economy’s Massive Vulnerability: Subsea cables channel data and power, but they face escalating risks – Jared Cohen, Foreign Policy, February 20, 2025
The Last Word
“It is the best Presidential memorandum that I’ve ever read.”
– Keith Krach, Chairman of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, about the Trump Administration’s America First Investment Policy.
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.