Technology diffusion. The core function of the United States’ China policy under the Biden administration is to stem the rate of technology diffusion between the United States and China. In practice, this will stem the speed of technology diffusion between the United States and the rest of the world.
Will this lead to a more fragmented world?
Will this deepen global socio-economic imbalances?
Does this constitute a policy of containment on behalf of the United States?
The core function of US policy towards China is to prevent the organic diffusion of advanced technology through a specific region of the world, China. This assumes the United States is still the dominant technology super-power. It is still the dominant technological superpower because it controls the key inputs.
Technology diffusion is organic, meaning technology is invented and developed in one place but gradually begins to attain wider adoption naturally over time. The United States is trying to stem technology diffusion because there’s the risk that advanced technology finds itself in the hands of a geopolitical rival such as China.
Technology
Dell looks to phase out Chinese chips by 2024 - Nikkei (Yahoo! Finance)
Dell Technologies Inc plans to stop using China-made chips by 2024 and has told suppliers to reduce the amount of other made-in-China components in its products amid concerns over U.S.-Beijing tensions, the Nikkei reported on Thursday.
The news comes after the United States added Chinese memory chipmaker YMTC and 21 "major" companies in the country's artificial intelligence chip sector to a trade blacklist in December.
Will China’s Technology Be a Game-Changer in the Post-Pandemic Era? (The Diplomat)
As the world embarks on a new wave of technological revolution, digital technology has cemented its significant role in future development. Emerging technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things are being integrated further into industries and society, driving the digital transformation forward. As estimated by the World Economic Forum, 60 percent of global GDP will be digitized by 2022. A study by the Harvard Business Review identified that nearly 72 percent of companies are investing in digital transformation, up from 62 percent in 2020. Digital technology is widely recognized for its capacity to stimulate the global economy.
Establishing the Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology (US State Department)
The Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology begins operations today at the Department of State. Secretary Blinken established the office as part of the wider modernization agenda because the constellation of critical and emerging technologies reshaping the world is now an integral part of the conduct of U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy. The competition to develop and deploy foundational technologies is intensifying. The Office of the Special Envoy will bring additional technology policy expertise, diplomatic leadership, and strategic direction to the Department’s approach to critical and emerging technologies. As the Department works to strengthen tech diplomacy across the organization, the office will provide a center of expertise and energy to develop and coordinate critical and emerging technology foreign policy, and to engage foreign partners on emerging technologies that will transform our societies, economies, and security—including biotechnology, advanced computing, artificial intelligence, and quantum information technologies. It will work in close coordination with the various bureaus and offices across the Department that are engaging on these and other technology topics that are central to our foreign policy.
OPPO自研晶片傳Q3問世 牽動手機晶片市場 (Anue)
OPPO 近年為強化手機差異性,積極衝刺自研晶片,市場傳出,OPPO 首顆手機應用處理器 (AP) 將在今年第三季亮相,採用台積電 (2330-TW)(TSM-US)4 奈米製程,瞄準中高階市場,恐擠壓原先供應商高通 (QCOM-US)、聯發科 (2454-TW) 供貨空間。
OPPO 目前是全球第三大手機品牌,僅次三星、蘋果,其中 AP 大量採購聯發科與高通的方案,隨著高通近年出貨不順,OPPO 也提高採用聯發科 AP 比重,帶動聯發科在 OPPO 集團出貨佔比接近 6 成,為聯發科的重點客戶。
Explainer: What is 'FDPR' and why is the U.S. using it to cripple China's tech sector? (Reuters)
Geopolitics
Part of Taiwan’s most advanced anti-ship missile sent to mainland China for repairs (South China Morning Post)
Taiwan’s top military research unit on Wednesday denied there had been any data leaks after it confirmed that a key component of its most advanced locally developed missile has been sent to mainland China for repairs.
Earlier local media had reported that a theodolite – a precision optical instrument – from the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile had been sent to Shandong province for repair.
A European Perspective on the New World Disorder (National Interest)
For years now, the United States has been focused on Asia and its fast-rising rival China. And it should not have come as a surprise that in view of China’s aggressive foreign policy and her determined and rapid military buildup, NATO’s new strategic concept, adopted on June 29, 2022, for the first time, contains clear passages on China’s policy, which is squarely directed against the interests of the alliance. Today, instead of the old bilateral bloc confrontation that the sides have become accustomed to and settled in for, we are faced with a deepening multipolar rivalry between the great powers.
How China’s reopening will disrupt the world economy (The Economist)
For the better part of three years—1,016 days to be exact—China will have been closed to the world. Most foreign students left the country at the start of the pandemic. Tourists have stopped visiting. Chinese scientists have stopped attending foreign conferences. Expat executives were barred from returning to their businesses in China. So when the country opens its borders on January 8th, abandoning the last remnants of its “zero-covid” policy, the renewal of commercial, intellectual and cultural contact will have huge consequences, mostly benign.
Taliban Settle Oil Deal With Chinese Company (The Diplomat)
Under the deal, Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co (CAPEIC) will invest $150 million a year in Afghanistan, increasing to $540 million in three years for the 25-year contract. The project targets a 4,500 square kilometer area that stretches across three provinces in Afghanistan’s north: Sar-e Pol, Jowzjan, and Faryab. The latter two border Turkmenistan.
China Pandemic Response (and Global Reaction)
China defends its COVID response after WHO, Biden concerns (Reuters)
China defended on Thursday its handling of its raging COVID-19 outbreak after U.S. President Joe Biden voiced concern and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Beijing was under-reporting virus deaths.
The WHO's emergencies director, Mike Ryan, said on Wednesday that Chinese officials were under-representing data on several fronts, some of the U.N. agency's most critical remarks to date.
Hong Kong residents rush to get vaccinated ahead of China border reopening (Reuters)
Hong Kong residents have swamped clinics to get vaccinated against COVID-19 ahead of the expected reopening of the city's border with mainland China, which some people fear will bring a surge of infections to the financial hub.
Shionogi Covid Pill May Get Chinese Approval in March, CEO Says (Bloomberg)
Shionogi & Co.’s Covid pill could be approved in China this spring as Beijing races to stock up on therapies developed abroad to fight a growing number of severe infections and deaths in the world’s biggest outbreak.
The Japanese drugmaker has been submitting data to regulators in China and expects Xocova to be authorized for use as early as this quarter, Chief Executive Officer Isao Teshirogi said.
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