US still out front in tech race, China experts say in response to Pentagon claim

Chinese progress ‘exaggerated’ in range of technological advances despite claim US is lagging behind

Defence official tells seminar China is either competitive or catching up in many hi-tech fields

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Despite its technological advances, China is still a long way behind the US, according to Chinese experts. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:00pm, 3 Nov 2019Updated: 10:33pm, 3 Nov 2019

Chinese experts have rejected the claim by a senior Pentagon official that the US is lagging behind China in some key dual-use technologies.

Michael Brown, director of the US Department of Defence’s innovation unit, said at a seminar earlier this week that China was either competitive or catching up in the areas of hypersonics, artificial intelligence, quantum sciences, 5G mobile networks, genetic engineering, and space.

With the exception of hypersonics, these technologies had not only military applications but were also critical for long-term economic prosperity, making them important to the future of US-China competition, he said.

“I believe that national security and economic security are inextricably linked,” Brown told the think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

But Chinese experts said China’s progress had been exaggerated and many of its achievements were only partial successes so far.

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