U.S. Must Constrict China's Access To Advanced Technology: Nat'l Security Advisor

The world is becoming more dangerous. Russia’s war on Ukraine is entering its seventh month, while China has become increasingly aggressive toward Taiwan, with recent large military exercises around the island and the regular crossing by fighter jets of the median line that divides the Taiwan Strait.

Photo Insert: With the US banning the sale of microchips crucial for artificial intelligence (AI) and stopping the exports of microprocessors vital to the operations of weapons, warplanes, artillery, tanks, helicopters as well as cellular phones, laptops, supercomputers, radar systems, missiles and satellites, China will be forced to speed up the development of its advanced technology industry.

The lessons the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) learns from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine will inform Beijing’s decision-making on Taiwan, former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien wrote for Foreign Policy.

“What could be called the Davos view that China is ‘communist in name only’ is fading. In its place, an understanding of the strength of both ethnonationalist and Marxist-Leninist conviction among the Chinese leadership is taking hold. It was once common to believe that China would be transformed into a more liberal polity if the US kept making concessions and continued to ignore its unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft, and genocide—just the opposite has occurred. China has become steadily more authoritarian and more aggressive, especially over the past decade. The US is now paying a price for its past naivete and tendency toward appeasement of Beijing,” O’Brien claimed.

Since Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly embraced a “no limits” partnership on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there have been worries that Beijing would seize the moment to invade and annex Taiwan.

Although the prospects of an immediate invasion are slim, with China distracted at home by economic crisis and the run-up to the critical 20th Party Congress, the threat remains.

With the US banning the sale of microchips crucial for artificial intelligence (AI) and stopping the exports of microprocessors vital to the operations of weapons, warplanes, artillery, tanks, helicopters as well as cellular phones, laptops, supercomputers, radar systems, missiles and satellites, China will be forced to speed up the development of its advanced technology industry.

China has been unable to work on chips since it relies mainly on Taiwan for supplies. Beijing is stuck with manufacturing outdated chips and experts calculate that it will take Beijing at least 7 years to catch up.

Aware of China’s obsession with conquering the island, Taiwan is investing in foundries in the US and Japan. The US can also constrict China’s ability to engage in industrial and scientific piracy and block it from acquiring advanced military technology.

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