Cooperation can beat tech cold war
China doesn’t want to engage in a technological cold war with anyone, not to mention the US, which is the global leader in science and technology. But if Washington pulls the world into a technological cold war, China will have no choice but to firmly fight back.
US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order in a bid to ban Chinese telecoms equipment from US wireless networks, Politico reported. White House National Security Council spokesperson Garrett Marquis was quoted in the report as saying that the US is working across the government and with its allies and like-minded partners to “mitigate risk in the deployment of 5G.”
If Politico’s report is true, Washington’s strategy will pressure its allies to take sides and choose between the US and China over the 5G development issue. We cannot rule out the possibility that major countries may be split into two opposing camps.
In reality, some Western countries, Canada included, have enhanced their interaction with the US over 5G issues to crack down on Chinese telecoms company Huawei.
From the 1950s to the 1980s, the world was ideologically divided by the Cold War between the US and the former Soviet Union. Now, it seems the US is likely to pull the world into a technological cold war.
China firmly opposes technological cold war. We will not fall into the trap of engaging in a cold war with the US and its allies.
China will consider further opening up its economy and enhancing technical cooperation with other countries to improve the country’s competitiveness.
Huawei itself has also stressed the importance of strategic cooperation with other excellent global enterprises.
Why do we need to fight back against Washington’s cold war mentality with further opening-up and cross-border cooperation? In the era of global interdependence, a cold war mentality doesn’t make sense. Both Chinese and Western companies now play key parts in the global 5G value chain. It’s impossible for the US to completely pull Chinese enterprises out of the global 5G network.
Huawei has become one of the world’s leading telecom equipment suppliers, capturing a large share of the market in many countries and regions. If the US bans those countries from buying telecom components and parts from Huawei to repair and upgrade their equipment, their telecom networks can hardly run smoothly.
A cold war mentality is doomed to fail in the era of global interdependence. China should maintain an open mind so as to enhance technological cooperation with other countries.
We will stand ready to fight back if the US starts a technological cold war with China, and we believe China has tools it can use as countermeasures with accelerated technological cooperation.