US and China’s mutual distrust is hampering tech innovation, experts fear
- ‘Science collaborations typically live beyond politics,’ the director of Columbia University’s Data Science Institute said at a conference in New York
- A leading venture capitalist predicted that US pressure for companies to cut ties with China’s Huawei would not be successful
Despite competing intensely for tech domination, a US-China alliance on cutting-edge advancements would benefit both nations, their intertwined economies and the world, leading venture capitalist and tech researchers say.
“I don’t see how the two countries can stop collaborating. It’s like we can’t just create two completely different worlds,” Gary Rieschel, founding managing partner of Qiming Venture Partners, told the South China Morning Post. “But the challenge is we have a very low level of trust between the two countries.”
At the China Institute Executive Summit in New York on Thursday, Rieschel elaborated on the lack of trust, which he thinks stems largely from ideological differences. The US, for instance, has historically hoped that China would become a democracy, he said, and warned that it shouldn’t wish for such a different culture to “be like us”.
“China has taken care of itself for thousands of years and it will continue to do so,” Rieschel said. “The key thing is for the US to do the right things for itself, including bringing more awareness to innovation.”
He was also critical of US President Donald Trump and questioned his ability to bridge broad tech policy gaps.