The United States is taking aim at Chinese enterprises after trade tensions escalated between Washington and Beijing about two weeks ago.
After imposing trade restrictions on China's leading tech firm Huawei, this week the United States government issued a warning that Chinese-made drones could pose a cyber-espionage risk to American businesses. Though it didn't mention a specific company, the Shenzhen-based market-leader DJI is widely believed to be the target. Washington is also considering blacklisting the Chinese surveillance technology company Hikvision and blocking it from purchasing from American companies. Some American politicians are even calling for an investigation into whether a plan to use trains made by China's CRRC on the New York City subway could pose a threat to national security.
The attacks launched by some American politicians against Chinese high tech firms over the past few days didn't come out of nowhere. As the only superpower in the world, the United States has superior scientific, technological, military, and economic strength. Despite this position, some of its politicians are extremely narrow-minded when it comes to tolerating the development of advanced industries in other countries. And they are unable to accept the United States being overtaken in any of these fields.
Despite being a latecomer in scientific and technological development, China has leaped ahead to become a leading player in many fields thanks to its continuous efforts to innovate over the past 40 years. Huawei is a world-leader when it comes to the number of 5G technology patents. DJI, the world's biggest drone maker, holds 70 percent of the global consumer and commercial drone market. CRRC has become the world's largest manufacturer of railway passenger vehicles. And Hikvision is now a world-leading provider of security and safety equipment, with its products and solutions adopted in over 150 countries across the world.
As leading players in China's manufacturing industry, Huawei, DJI, CRRC, and Hikvision have won the recognition of the global market thanks to their remarkable product quality, advanced technology, and reasonable prices. And the safety and security of their products has stood up to stringent scrutiny in various countries, including the United States.
But America's politicians have abandoned the principles of fair competition which they once proudly defended, and have decided to embrace the America First philosophy and abuse their state power to bully Chinese firms with groundless charges. Their goal is to stunt China's technological development and retain the global hegemonic position enjoyed by the United States. These recent moves are also an attempt to place extreme pressure on China as the trade tensions escalate. The American move is tantamount to building an iron curtain across global value chains. It is inevitable that this will deeply harm global growth, and hinder humanity's scientific and technological progress.
At the core of American restrictions on Huawei lie 5G technology and its application. The next generation of mobile technology is of great significance when it comes to building the Internet of Things, and promoting the deep integration of the Internet with big data, artificial intelligence, and the real economy. It requires all countries to strengthen their cooperation so that everyone can benefit. However, the United States has arbitrarily suppressed Huawei for its own benefit, without regard to its impact on the progress of global information technology.
The United States has not produced any concrete evidence to verify its accusations against either Huawei or DJI. DJI drones have been widely used in fields that include agriculture, firefighting, disaster relief, and the protection of endangered animals. The American military is also a regular client of the Chinese drone maker. Nothing untoward has been found regarding its products. Given that some American politicians have been willing to defame DJI without providing proof of any wrongdoing, it is reasonable to believe that attacks against the company are likely.
This reckless behavior by American politicians has made many observers in the United States comment on the absurdity of the current situation. Renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs called the U.S. move against Huawei “a dangerous escalation of the U.S. attempt to weaken China’s economy.” He pointed out that China's only mistake is having a population of 1.4 billion and that, if it were a smaller country like South Korea with its population of 50 million, it would be praised by the United States as a great success story.
For Chinese companies that have experienced the ups and downs of overseas markets, this round of technology hegemony and bullying by the United States is without doubt another challenge. It will have its short-term impacts. But crises such as these can also become opportunities. What is clear is that China's increasingly powerful companies would continue to advance despite these pressures, and won't be dwarfed by any bullying.
