China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: top legislature vows to overcome US tech and science sanctions

Beijing’s response to Washington’s containment strategy will not be self-isolation but a call to arms for innovation, according to NPC spokesman

AI and biotechnology legislation to address ethical, moral, and safety concerns will be a major task for top lawmaking body in 2024, he says

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Chinese companies have made strides in developing commercially viable chips for smartphones, but high-end chips for servers or AI still rely heavily on imports. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 6:00am, 5 Mar 2024Updated: 6:05am, 5 Mar 2024

China’s top legislature declared on Monday that Washington’s sanctions and other measures to contain China in technology – including 5G tech, semiconductors and artificial intelligence – would ultimately “prove futile”.

“For any technology known to man, [the US] cannot choke [China’s development]. It is merely a matter of time [before we prevail],” said National People’s Congress (NPC) spokesman Lou Qinjian in Beijing during the first day of the country’s annual legislative meetings, known as the “two sessions”.

“China is steadfast in its resolve for self-reliance in science and technology. No technological obstacle is too great to overcome as long as we persist in our endeavours.”

Lou said China’s response to the US containment strategy would not be self-isolation but rather a call to arms for global technological innovation and collaboration.

“We will strengthen the creation, application and protection of scientific and technological intellectual property rights,” Lou said.

“We will also actively participate in the global innovation network, jointly promote basic research, facilitate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, cultivate new drivers of economic development, and improve human well-being.”

He added that the White House’s practices seeking to decouple, disrupt supply chains or take a “small yard, high fence” approach towards China only hindered global technological progress, undermined industrial development worldwide, and widened the “chasm in global development”.

Lou praised China’s prowess in independent innovation and its unwavering spirit in the face of adversity, citing its BeiDou Satellite Navigation System as an example.

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