“Technical Democracy” of the US Democratic Party's administration and “Technology Independence” of China have begun a geopolitical confrontation in East Asia over semiconductors.
Bloomberg reported on the 1st that it uses the term “techno-democracies” against “techno-authoritarianism” for the Asian policy of the US Democratic Biden administration.
It is not a Trump Republican military race or a “tariff bomb”, Bloomberg said, responding to China in advanced technology and strengthening cooperation with technologically superior democratic allies and partners.
On the 24th of last month, President Biden initiated an executive order to review the global supply chain of four key items, including semiconductor chips, electric vehicle batteries, rare earths, and pharmaceuticals, for the next 100 days.
China's media outlets said earlier that the two meetings (the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress of the National People's Congress), which is the core of power, will be held from the 4th and will treat ``technology independence'' as the most important agenda. “The biggest problem is the excessive dependence on overseas core parts. He said on the 2nd that it is already a bottleneck for semiconductor supply due to US regulations. “We will also discuss a five-year plan by 2025 for technology independence in the fields of core software and equipment.”
Regarding the confrontation of technology democracy over semiconductors, Bloomberg said, “Recognizing the importance of semiconductors as a cluster of technologies in the geopolitical battle, the US and its democratic partners are attempting to focus on technologies that have a comparative advantage.” Lan commented, “The fear of a problem in the supply of semiconductor chips used in automobiles and mobile phones due to the competition for hegemony with China has accelerated this policy of the United States.”
In the introduction of the AI (artificial intelligence) weapon system related to the increase of armament in the semiconductor competition, the AI committee created by the Republican Party reported on the 1st that "the pursuit of “AI-supported” weapons”, but the adoption of this was unclear, foreign media said.
AI weaponization has been opposed by Google, and this AI committee is co-chaired by former Google Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eric Schmidt and former Vice Minister of Defense Bob Walker, and is made up of 15 members including current Google, Microsoft, Oracle, and Amazon executives.
The AI Committee, established under the 2018 Defense Authorization Act under the Trump regime, reported on the 1st, "Because of its dependence on Taiwan, it is on the verge of losing the advantage of microelectronics, which are commercially and military-powered. We need to create a semiconductor production base in Korea." The United States is only one or two years ahead of China, so to beat China in the AI field, more funds, talents, and stronger leadership are needed,” he said. “China is aggressively promoting authoritarianism around the world. In order to preserve the enemy's value, we have to develop the technology.”
Conservative Deputy Defense Minister Bob Walker, who served as co-chair for two years, said, “As China, which sees Taiwan as a local government, rather than an independent state, poses a threat to Taiwan, dependence on Taiwan (in the semiconductor sector) is a serious risk. "If China absorbs Taiwan, it could be a problem of competitiveness for us."
Regarding the conclusion of the report, the Financial Times stated that “the United States needs to build a flexible domestic foundation for designing and manufacturing semiconductors”, and Chairman Schmidt said in a personal opinion, “Due to its dependence on Taiwan, US companies and the US military It was reported on the 2nd that it was on the verge of losing its competitiveness in the cutting-edge semiconductor and semiconductor technology fields that move the company.”