Big Tech Is A Big Deal In The Strategic Competition With China

© Dilock Claysataporn/Getty Images/iStockPhoto American and Chinese flags on a stack of coins. It is a symbol of the economic tariff trade war and the tariff barrier between the US and China.

Last week I testified before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee on the state of America's technology and innovation sector and how it bodes strategically for the country to compete with China. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) will hold another hearing this week to discuss "strengthening key digital platforms." These phenomena are interconnected, and any legislative action aimed at the US technology industry must understand and take these connections into account.

Technology has always been a key variable in geostrategic change. From ship and gunpowder to modern information and communication technology, these and other innovations have changed and transformed the destinies of nations in their respective eras. Today is the same.

All three trends are particularly relevant to the growing change in the global order in technology companies.

Global interests and influences. This year, global technology spending will reach $4.6 trillion by 2023, up more than 5% from 2022. Another report predicts that digitized industries will account for more than 50% of GDP by the end of this year. Simply put: the world's largest technology companies are amassing wealth and cross-border influence that was previously limited to regions. But these companies are more than players in the game of international politics, they are often the platform itself.

Expanding the role of digital and social networks . While modern communication technologies and social media platforms provide unique tools for legitimate political debate and action, these tools also extend to attackers such as Russia and China. Governments around the world beg, plead and even threaten tech companies to take collective matters into their own hands, but private sector tech players have amassed the power of political influence on an uncontrollable scale. political leaders

Development of basic skills and methods to ensure national security . Indeed, the technologies needed to protect the American people and interests, such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing and robotics, are largely being developed in the private sector, which accounts for 75% of all US research and development spending. In fact, by the end of 2022, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Intel and Microsoft will spend a total of more than $215 billion on research and development (R&D). That same year, the Pentagon's R&D budget request was $112 billion.

Fortunately, American science and technology companies are still going strong and the envy of the world. American companies are pioneering innovations and technologies that advance human development, advance economic prosperity, and ensure our national security for future generations. But to harness the full power and potential of the private sector, we must first consciously address the three main problems facing American science and technology companies.

First, we must counter China's theft and technological aggression. Beijing, like Washington, recognizes that new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and quantum science will shape tomorrow's societies, economies and battlefields, and that these innovations are highly developed in the private sector.

But unlike the United States, the PRC does not seek free and fair competition for global innovation, but turns technology into a state extension of cultural and economic espionage. Whether it's social media like TikTok or drone companies like DGI, America's corporate capitulation to Beijing's predatory interests in our data undermines America's economic competitiveness, individual and national cybersecurity, and national security as a whole. WE

Second, we need to help our partners understand that the "look first, ask questions later" strategy hurts us all, does us no good, and exposes Beijing's strengths. Other governments, notably those of the European Union (EU), are passing laws that deliberately target American innovators, favor local leaders and threaten to fragment the Internet itself into a series of "mini-networks." Worse, the economic hardships resulting from these divisions make these allies more vulnerable to the sirens of CCP-subsidized cloud services and other attempts to steal the country's information and resources. . If this happens, many of our friends will lose their sovereignty and security while trying to protect them.

Finally, internal discussions about technology and innovation should be limited to facts and geopolitical realities. Every organization and industry must be held accountable under US law, and national security considerations cannot be used as a "get out of jail free" card. However, no political grievances should be used to justify unconstitutional or ineffective action against the scientific and technological enterprise that underpins personal and national prosperity.

Ultimately, our national defense is more dependent than ever on the private sector, even as China becomes a true peer not only in technology but also in economic and military power. Western technology companies and the US government must understand that their long-term interests are best served by cooperation in the area of ​​national security. And they must do it in terms of patriotism, economic benefit, because these partnerships will spread the true free market and human prosperity around the world.

In an era of growing geopolitical competition, this uniquely American advantage could be decisive. To give up would be unwise.

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This article originally appeared on the AEIdeas blog and is reprinted with permission from the American Enterprise Institute .

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Tags: Opinion, Confidential Ring Road, Think Tanks, Opinion, Big Tech, Technology, China

Original creator: Klon Kitchen

Starting position: Big technology plays an important role in strategic competition with China.

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