China-US tech war

Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is booming, but its pole position is at risk. With the industry deemed of national security concern, China, the US and the EU are implementing restrictive measures, upping their investment and aiming for autonomy and self-sufficiency in the sector, which could cause Taiwan to lose its competitive edge.

China’s American and European partners do not seem keen on granting China a “stable external environment” during the 20th Party Congress. With diplomatic sparring ratcheting up, Xi’s new team will have its work cut out when the congress ends in a few days’ time.

With the 20th Party Congress just days away, Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing looks at the government’s economic policies and actions over the past decade, including its cleanup of the technology and education sectors, and pandemic lockdowns. How has the party responded, and what impact has there been on the people?

With inflation reaching historic highs, the Biden administration is facing a challenging road ahead of the midterm elections in November. The lifting of some tariffs on China could ease inflation in the US and appease voters, bringing an end to the China-US trade war. However, views in the White House are mixed. Zaobao correspondent Edwin Ong speaks with academics to find out more.

The recent conviction of former Harvard department head Charles Lieber has cast the spotlight once again on China’s Thousand Talents Plan to attract global scientific talent to contribute their expertise to China. The American scientific community is pushing back against some of the US government’s harsh reprisals, but Hu Hao says strong action is warranted as the threat of authoritarian regimes seeking to gain technical knowledge to threaten democratic and liberal values is real.

While the US and Japan would like TSMC to "spread the risk" of global tech supply chains being hit in the event of cross-strait tensions, TSMC is quite firm on keeping its advanced technologies in Taiwan while going through the motions of setting up some overseas outposts as recommended by its allies. It is well aware of its strategic value and will want to hold on to its upper hand.

The US government has seemingly pulled the rug from under the feet of SenseTime by putting it on a blacklist just a week before its planned IPO, effectively blocking US funding from the AI company. But while the official reason is human rights issues in Xinjiang, perhaps the real reason is the ongoing tech competition between the US and China. If so, it seems that the US has found another lever with which to pressure China — curtailing investment.

By certain indices, China seems to have surpassed the US in artificial intelligence development. But a closer look shows that the US is still a leader where it counts, even though China has its strengths and is pouring in significant investments to catch up. James Pang says that China still has to knuckle down and get its fundamentals right, if it is to truly surpass its rival.

Analyst Zheng Weibin says that while the China-US competition is a tussle for power that some would compare to the Cold War of the 20th century, digital technology is making all the difference in the 21st century. Today's competition is taking place amid changing definitions of national strength and economic power, and China needs to catch up in terms of growing its digital economy and meeting the challenges that come with it.