Tech Diplomacy Now: US-China Trade War Escalates
U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports: 145%; Chinese tariffs on U.S. imports: 125%. What comes next?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Top News of the Week
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
The Last Word
Top News of the Week – The Sino-American Trade War Escalates
President Trump announced sweeping tariffs in response to large trade deficits that have “led to the hollowing out of our manufacturing base; resulted in a lack of incentive to increase advanced domestic manufacturing capacity; undermined critical supply chains; and rendered our defense-industrial base dependent on foreign adversaries.” The biggest of these deficits is with China.
Key Points:
The United States imposed a baseline tariff of 10% on nearly every country.
Countries that have served as transshipment destinations for Chinese exports to the United States received higher tariffs, but those tariffs have been postponed for 90 days to facilitate negotiations.
The United States imposed significantly higher tariffs on China, which Beijing retailed with its own tariffs on U.S. imports and a comprehensive embargo of some critical minerals. After a series of tit-for-tat retaliatory tariffs, U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports stand at 145% and Chinese tariffs on U.S. imports stand at 125%.
Global stock markets and the bond market declined sharply as fears of an escalating trade war and recession took hold.
More on Background:
Trump Signals Tariffs Are Coming on Computer Chips and Drugs – NYTs, April 14, 2025
China has stopped exporting rare earths to everyone, not just the U.S., cutting off critical materials for tech, autos, aerospace, and defense – Fortune, April 14, 2025
Trade Wars Are Easy to Lose – Foreign Affairs, April 9, 2025
CEA Chairman Steve Miran Hudson Institute Event Remarks – The White House, April 7, 2025
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Declares National Emergency to Increase our Competitive Edge, Protect our Sovereignty, and Strengthen our National and Economic Security – The White House, April 2, 2025
China and America Aren’t Just in a Trade War. It’s a Fight for the 21st Century. - The Free Press, April 9, 2025
Latest News
China Investigates Former Economic Czar Liu’s Son, FT Reports – Bloomberg, April 6, 2025
Trump’s Trade War Escalates as China Retaliates With 34% Tariffs – NYTs, April 4, 2025
Trump extends TikTok deadline for the second time – CNBC, April 4, 2025
E.U. Prepares Major Penalties Against Elon Musk’s X – NYTs, April 3, 2025
Technology Strategy and Policy
France Fines Apple €150 Million Over iOS Data Consent Rules – Bloomberg, March 31, 2025
Red tape that tears us apart: regulation fragments Indo-Pacific cyber resilience – The Strategist, March 31, 2025
Taiwan accuses China's biggest chipmaker SMIC of 'illegally' poaching tech talent – CNBC, March 28, 2025
Military Mobility Depends on Secure Critical Infrastructure – FDD, March 27, 2025
Trump Takes Tough Approach to Choking Off China’s Access to U.S. Tech – WSJ, March 26, 2025
Murky Waters: Navigating the Risks of China’s Dual-Use Shipyards – CSIS, March 25, 2025
Understanding U.S. Allies’ Current Legal Authority to Implement AI and Semiconductor Export Controls – CSIS, March 14, 2025
Artificial Intelligence
AI autonomy and endurance of China’s Rainbow-9 drone expected to change unmanned warfare – SCMP, March 31, 2025
A Peter Thiel Protégé Is Leading Trump’s AI Strategy Against China – WSJ, March 30, 2025
China wants to lead the world in robots — from dogs to dancers – WaPo, March 29, 2025
If Anthropic Succeeds, a Nation of Benevolent AI Geniuses Could Be Born – Wired, March 28, 2025
Commerce Further Restricts China’s Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing Capabilities – Bureau of Industry and Security, March 25, 2025
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
Huawei corruption probe: 8 charged – Politico, April 4, 2025
Signal sees its downloads double after scandal – TechCrunch, March 31, 2025
TRAI chief calls for 10x expansion of India’s subsea cable infra to meet surging data demand – Indian Express, March 27, 2025
Musk’s Broadband Satellites Have Long-Term Costs, States Say – Bloomberg, March 25, 2025
Critical Minerals
Trump strategy threatens critical mineral supplies for clean power – Reuters, April 7, 2025
Company planning Nebraska critical minerals mine warns U.S supply can't supply own rare earth minerals yet as China restricts access – Yahoo, April 7, 2025
China Just Turned Off U.S. Supplies of Minerals Critical For Defense & Cleantech – Clean Technica, April 5, 2025
China’s Rare Earths Curbs Put Multiple US Industries at Risk – Bloomberg, April 4, 2025
Synthetic Biology
China's BGI Genomics loses access to Microsoft's office software – Nikkei Asia, April 7, 2025
Chinese brain chip project speeds up human trials after first success – Reuters, March 31, 2025
Chinese Scientist Ostracized Over Gene-Edited Babies Seeks Comeback – WSJ, March 26, 2025
Quantum
Research Team Reports AI Model Trains Itself to Understand — and Predict — Quantum Systems – Quantum Insider, April 8, 2025
Quantum Computing Stocks Climb as Rigetti, IonQ Tapped for Department of Defense Program – Investopedia, April 7, 2025
Google, Microsoft and IBM are bullish on quantum computing. Are the chips of the future for real? – CNBC, April 6, 2025
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Is DJI Done? – The Wire China, April 6, 2025
US Satellites Risk Attack in a War with China, Space Chief Says – Bloomberg, April 3, 2025
US Space Force wants a new 'orbital carrier' to be a satellite launch pad in space – Space.com, March 31, 2025
China launches classified TJS-16 spacecraft, companion object emerges alongside earlier TJS-15 satellite – Space News, March 29, 2025
China’s megaconstellations take off, government backs commercial space – Space News, March 28, 2025
China unveils planetary exploration roadmap targeting habitability and extraterrestrial life – Space News, March 27, 2025
Space Force certifies Vulcan for national security launches – Space News, March 26, 2025
How a Cheap Drone Punctured Chernobyl’s 40,000 Ton Shield – NYTs, March 25, 2025
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
World’s first 1-nanometre RISC-V chip made in China with 2D materials – SCMP, April 4, 2025
Intel, TSMC recently discussed chipmaking joint venture, the Information reports – Reuters, April 4, 2025
Samsung turns to China to prop up ailing chip business – FT, April 3, 2025
GlobalFoundries weighs merger with No. 2 Taiwan chipmaker UMC: sources – Nikkei Asia, March 31, 2025
Apple chip engineer returns to China, joins Fudan University amid push for talent – SCMP, March 31, 2025
China’s new chip tool champion SiCarrier offers self-reliance hope amid US restrictions – SCMP, March 30, 2025
Energy and Climate
Fossil fuels are terrible for the environment. Is mining critical minerals any better? – Fast Company, April 7, 2025
How Trump’s Tariffs Could Hobble the Fastest-Growing Energy Technology – NYTs, April 3, 2025
Opinion and Commentary
Unlike China’s flotilla, the Great White Fleet came in friendship – Justin Bassi, The Strategist, April 4, 2025
President Trump Is Protecting America’s Technological Edge Over China - Bryan Burack and Jaydn Rohlman, The Daily Signal, April 4, 2025
America’s Brightest Minds Will Walk Away – Neel V. Patel, NYTs, April 3, 2025
Empire of Illusion: Frank Dikötter on Why China Isn’t a Superpower – Peter Robinson and Frank Dikotter, Uncommon Knowledge, April 1, 2025
Global Shift Toward Trusted Defense Supply Chains Opens Doors for Romanian SMEs – Brigadier General (Ret.) Dr. Cătălin Constantin Mihalache, TechDiplomacy.org, April 8, 2025
The Last Word
“If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”
– Chinese Embassy in the U.S.
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.