Benign tech competition best for China, US

The United States' policy toward China and its attitude toward Sino-US scientific and technological cooperation have undergone some significant changes since last year. As a result, the US now emphasizes "competition", rather than cooperation in its relations with China.

The US has taken a series of high-profile measures in the field of science and technology, in order to limit Sino-US scientific and technological cooperation, personnel exchanges, technology exports, and investment.

For example, the US has launched a smear campaign against Huawei, China's largest telecommunications equipment maker and the world's leading 5G technology player, and ordered investigations against Chinese high-tech companies. Also, the US Congress has passed several bills prohibiting the US military from procuring the products of Huawei and ZTE, another Chinese telecom company, forbidding the US government from buying surveillance equipment from Chinese enterprises and restricting Chinese investment in US high-tech companies.

These US measures have not only had a negative impact on overall China-US relations but also made competition in the science and technology field a feature of strategic competition between Beijing and Washington.

However, these measures are in the interest of neither the US nor China, because no country can ignore global cooperation and rely on its own strength to promote its scientific and technological progress. Although the US' scientific and technological capabilities are strong, it is no longer the leader in all scientific and technological fields. For instance, for its technological development, the US needs the support of the global industrial chain, global markets and other countries' research institutions. In fact, the development of the US' advanced F-35 fighter aircraft relies on extensive international cooperation.

The global industrial chain established in the field of science and technology over the past decades has made the countries interdependent, with the countries using their respective technological advantages to find their own niche in the global industrial chain. And as a country whose science and technology sector has developed rapidly over the past few years, China has established a dominant position in some scientific and technological areas and become a crucial player in the global industrial chain.

With artificial intelligence (AI) becoming a new front in technological development, China's huge market and data resources have become invaluable assets. If the US wants to develop its AI sector, it needs to cooperate with China. Therefore, the US' moves to try to "decouple China" from the global industrial chain will not only be difficult, but also greatly hinder its own technological development.

In the science and technology sector, China and the US must pursue "benign competition" and become "responsible competitors". As the US has repeatedly stressed, the term "competition" needs to be understood from a positive perspective. In the science and technology sector, competition has always propelled development, provided the competition is benign and positive.

As such, countries promote their scientific and technological development by upgrading their own technologies through international collaboration, not by using unethical and unlawful means.

"Malignant competition", which harms the scientific and technological development of other countries, by restricting international collaboration, cannot bring about real progress. So China and the US should engage in benign and positive competition to advance scientific and technological development through cooperation.

"Benign competition" also means China and the US need to cooperate in key scientific and technological fields. The "technical decoupling" measures being used by the US against China have even raised the hackles of some insightful people in the US. Two scholars of Brookings Institute, for instance, published an article titled "US-China Relations: In The Age of Artificial Intelligence", recently, arguing that fencing off the US technology sector from China would slow new breakthroughs, reduce the competitiveness of US companies, and increase the cost for American consumers.

They also argued that China and the US are at the forefront of innovations in the field of AI, and zero-sum framing does a disservice to both. At a time when AI is becoming increasingly important for the world, China and the US need to lead its development and give full play to their respective advantages.

Besides, the social and economic problems brought about by AI and the reshaping of norms that follow will require China and the US to jointly solve the emerging problems. In short, China and the US need to keep the big picture in mind to ensure long-term development of AI technology, as that is the best way to go beyond competition and toward meaningful cooperation.

The author is deputy director of the Institute of American Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. Source: chinausfocus.com The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.