COMPUTER CHIP BAN SIGNALS NEW ERA AS BIDEN AND XI MEET

The Biden administration’s move to block exports of advanced computer chips to China is signaling a new phase in relations between the globe’s two largest economies — one in which trade matters less than an increasingly heated competition to be the world’s leading technological and military power.

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The aggressive move, announced last month, it’s evidence of Biden’s determination to “manage” the U.S. competition with China, whose officials were quick to condemn the export ban. 

After more than two decades in which the focus was on expansion of trade and global growth, both countries are openly prioritizing their national interests as the world economy struggles with high inflation and the risk of recessions. The U.S. and China have each identified the development and production of computer chips as vital for economic growth and their own security interests.

“We’re going to do whatever it takes to protect Americans from the threat of China,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in an interview. “China is crystal clear. They will use this technology for surveillance. They will use this technology for cyber attacks. They will use this technology to, in any number of ways, harm us and our allies, or our ability to protect ourselves.”

Xi responded to the export ban in his statement at last month’s congress of the Chinese Communist Party, where he secured a third term as the country’s leader. He pledged that China would move more aggressively to become self-reliant in producing semiconductors and other technologies.

“In order to enhance China’s innovation capacity, we will move faster to launch a number of major national projects that are of strategic, bigpicture and long-term importance,” Xi said.