Explainer | US-China tech war: Everything you need to know about the US-China tech war and its impact
- Analysts generally point to Beijing’s Made in China 2025 program as the trigger for the tech war
- The Biden administration has kept up the pressure on China tech and in the case of Huawei, increased it
In fact, Biden has cast US competition with China as the most important front in a generational struggle between democracy and autocracy.
The tech war started as a trade dispute, but soon morphed into a battle for leadership in core technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors.
The US, with its long history of R&D and invention, has been the global tech leader for decades, but that position is now being challenged by China, which has thrown its full weight - and tens of billions in state funding - behind efforts to catch up to the US.
After Washington began blocking China’s access to core US-controlled technologies like semiconductors, Beijing doubled down on efforts to “de-Americanise” its supply chain.
The global pandemic contributed to tensions between the two nations, prompting Biden to issue an executive order to review US supply chains for core products like chips, batteries, rare earths and medical supplies.
Bills proposing significant increases in US investment and R&D spending in core tech have also received bipartisan support in Washington.