The main challenge before the international world is not so much China’s technological advancement, rather the strategy embraced by America to turn that advancement into a political divide.
The main challenge before the international world is not so much China’s technological advancement, rather the strategy embraced by America to turn that advancement into a political divide.
By Mehmet Enes Beşer
As geopolitical rivalry between the US and China grows, the technology domain is, by far, the most contentious field. The new international technological order is being shaped increasingly by not cooperation or rivalry, but by a climate of suspicion as well as by strategies of containment, such as in semiconductors, 5G networks, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. In Western discourses, the rapid development of technology in China is often described as some sort of threatening, imminent menace, as being an authoritarian state that will control new-industry networks. But such an analysis ignores a much deeper, critical issue: the conscious blocking of the spontaneous trajectory of international technological development by Washington, which is a much greater threat to international progress.
Historically, innovation thrives in contexts of openness, exchange, and decentralized creativity. International scholarly cooperation is responsible for developing the internet, simultaneously arising with world supply chains for the production of electronics, over many years through interdependence and trust. Yet, under the pretext of “national security,” Washington increasingly deploys technology as a zero-sum geopolitical tool. By using export controls as a tool of force, demonizing foreign companies as pariahs, and pressuring allies into breaking technological links with China, Washington is politicizing an activity that is inherently based on international interdependence and cooperative progress.
The consequences are far-reaching. Preventing Chinese companies from accessing state-of-the-art semiconductor technology or existing software not only hinder the technological advancement of a specific nation, but it also destabilizes the world innovation infrastructure. Global businesses as well as scholars are forced to align with one camp, leaving duplicated value chains, eroded cooperative alliances, and fragmented once-united networks. The effects go beyond simple economic inefficiencies; they are emblematic of a backward step for intellectual development. When visionary minds are held back by artificial constraints of borders and ideological restrictions, the credibility of scientific development is lost.
In addition, the statement that Chinese technology progress represents an essential threat is based on ideological bias, not empirical observation. Chinese businesses thrive with sustainable technologies, electronic payment systems, as well as robotics not because of unfair business, but because of massive capital investment, state support, as well as a massive home market allowing for fast growth. The Chinese innovation phenomenon must not be considered abnormal, but as a product of conscious national policy, much like the rise of Silicon Valley, whose emergence had occurred as a product of the post-Cold War industrial policy of the United States.
Referencing this growth as a threat does not consider the prospective benefits it makes towards world development. China’s leadership in solar energy technology and the manufacture of electric car batteries is already driving down sustainable infrastructure costs globally. Its strides in artificial intelligence are sparking unparalleled innovation in medical diagnosis, natural language processing, as well as smart city administrations. Rather than try to stop such innovations, the world can focus on developing collaborative governance mechanisms, accountable standards, as well as technology diplomacy programs that drive responsible innovation regardless of its origin. The threat of American intervention not only involves stifling world innovation, it simultaneously erodes trust. The higher the levels of export restrictions, visa restrictions, and accusations of espionage, the weaker becomes the underpinnings of free scientific discovery and technological cooperation. Countries that once looked up to the United States as a cooperative partner of progress now approach with circumspection, if not even hostility. And so, there is a gradual, steady process of decoupling, not out of any desire on China’s part, but as a consequence of America’s own fears.
This development creates a dangerous precedent for ascendant powers. If technological dominance is viewed as a threat, rather than progress to be embraced, it makes a world of techno-nationalism, fragmented standards, and disconnected environments even more likely. In such a paradigm, no country—whether it is the U.S.—will have the ability to keep up the needed pace and scope of innovation required to manage challenges of the world, such as climate change, pandemics, or digital regulation.
The main challenge before the international world is not so much China’s technological advancement, rather the strategy embraced by America to turn that advancement into a political divide. By viewing technology as a competition rather than a way of building interconnectedness, Washington is jeopardizing the fundamental principles that have underpinned decades of remarkable international economic growth. A world that is more stable, prosperous, and innovative requires cooperation, not force. It compels us to see technological progress as something for all, not as a tool for monopolistic competition. Humanity will be shaped by artificial intelligence, biotechnology, as well as climate technologies—formed not by would-be masters of their domains, but by our choices as they emerge. In such a scenario, the greatest danger is not from adversaries, but from those who seek to undermine others.