US-China tech war: Xi Jinping doubles down on ‘technology security’ measures as part of nation’s five-year plan

China’s ruling Communist Party wants the country to double down on sweeping tech security measures in line with a five-year national strategy, as tensions between Washington and Beijing show no signs of abating.

“Technology security” is one of the key areas covered by the country’s security agenda from 2021 to 2025, President Xi Jinping said at a meeting of the Politburo – the Communist Party’s top echelon – on Thursday, according to meeting notes released by the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The Politburo meeting discussed improving China’s ability to govern the areas of biosecurity as well as internet, data and artificial intelligence security – all of which are considered by Beijing as major fields in the future, according to the Xinhua report. It said the meeting concluded that China must strengthen value chain “resilience” and its ability to “resist impacts”, without mentioning a specific case.

The meeting also stressed the importance of tech self-sufficiency, which means China must have control over advanced technologies needed for national development, the report said. The US and China have accelerated their competition to be the global leader in science and technology.