Technology trade controls and US–China competition

Abstract

Competition for technological superiority is now a key aspect of the rivalry between China and the United States. Mastery of advanced technologies like artificial-intelligence, microelectronics and quantum-information systems will determine military and economic pre-eminence in the future. The US has imposed significant restrictions on China’s access to sophisticated technology, and it has adopted industrial policies and established multilateral frameworks to exclude China from certain technology ecosystems. Meanwhile, China aims to achieve world leadership in semiconductor-dependent technologies and plans to accelerate its development of indigenous capabilities to overcome the technology barrier raised by the US.