US-China tech war: the world’s two largest economies are ‘most significant rivals’ in space by 2040, new report says
- Space is increasingly in the cross-hairs of US officials as China pushes ahead with its own plans for stations in Earth’s orbit and around the moon.
- The US Space Force (USSF) is now one of the United States’ eight uniformed services and the world’s first and currently only independent military branch.
The United States’ National Intelligence Council (NIC), an intra-governmental think tank, said China will be “the most significant rival” in space by 2040, an area the US government has already highlighted as strategic for continuing national security, according to a report released on Tuesday.
The Global Trends 2040 report, produced for the incoming president every four years since 1997, identifies forces that will likely “shape the national security environment” for the US in the next 20 years, according to the NIC.
Dedicating a whole chapter to technology, the Global Trends 2040 report highlights the “race for technological dominance” that is “particularly associated with China’s rise”, including artificial intelligence (AI), smart manufacturing, biotechnology, and space.
By 2040, the report predicts that China’s efforts in expanding its presence outside the Earth’s atmosphere will be independent from the US and Europe, creating its own set of alliances with countries participating in China-led space activities.
A joke for many when it was first announced by Donald Trump in 2019, the US Space Force (USSF) is now one of the United States’ eight uniformed services and the world’s first and currently only independent military branch.