US to suffer from tech sanctions on China

By Li Qingqing Source:Global Times Published: 2019/8/20 20:58:40

The US Department of Commerce on Monday (US time) announced that it had added 46 additional subsidiaries of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to its so-called Entity List. More than 100 Huawei entities have been covered by the restrictions since May.

This is an important US move to comprehensively block Huawei. It also reflects a clear message of the US strategy: The US wants to launch a technological cold war against China. And the war appears to have started.

Realistic or not, the US has already adopted the strategy to completely decouple with China in high technology, and to force the world to decouple from China in the field. To some US elites, Huawei is not a Chinese company anymore, nor do they care much about whether Huawei's technology is advanced and practical. In their view, Huawei has become a symbol and a representative: Whoever accepts Huawei stands together with China, and whoever shuts Huawei out chooses the US side. The US is using a company to set the line, and this is unprecedented and ridiculous.

When facing US suppression, China should cast aside its illusions and get prepared. China should keep walking on the path of independent technological innovation. For example, Huawei's self-developed Harmony operating system is a good start for technological innovation. This is an alternative to Google's Android operating system, and more importantly, it will enable China to have a greater say in technology worldwide. Huawei, as well as other Chinese high-tech enterprises, needs to have a plan B. 

The US pressure should never affect China's reform and opening-up. Under such pressure, China will open up even wider. We always welcome countries and enterprises willing to cooperate with us, including cooperation and opening-up in technology and markets. 

China provides the world with its technology, which has the highest possible quality and the lowest possible price. Unlike rising unilateralism in the US, China has always believed that the world is heading toward multipolarism. Although the process may be full of twists and turns, China's pace will never be stopped by any external force.

Washington should understand that its moves will hurt US interests as well. The US hardly has the ability to form a brand-new high-tech system by itself. The situation is completely different from what it was during the Cold War years. Complete decoupling from China will seriously affect and restrain the US own high-tech development. It is unlikely that other countries' high technology will completely follow the US and help the US. After all, many of today's high-tech breakthroughs do not happen in the US.

Indeed, Washington can impose an export restriction on Huawei. But Washington can never stop the trend of advancement in global technology. By imposing sanctions on Chinese enterprises, the US will only isolate itself and lag behind others. Since China's technology has already become indispensable in the world, other countries will make their own right choice. 



Posted in: OBSERVER

blog comments powered by Disqus