US-China tech war & rivalry

With prospects of a Trump 2.0 looming, the WTO zombified and experts warning of mega threats and a ‘polycrisis’, the absence of cooperation makes one fear the worst.

With industrial policy interventions growing, the transparency provided by a new global tracker will enable organisations like the IMF and WTO to distinguish between the good and bad.

China’s move to curb rare earth exports could affect Asian economies’ plans to develop their clean energy sectors such as EV.

Fierce public backlash in Michigan and Illinois over proposed Chinese electric vehicle battery factories highlights a conundrum for the Biden administration. The potential economic benefits are in tension with US national security concerns and the political importance of Midwestern states in next year’s election.

Alleging slave labour and drugs smuggling, some American senators are zoning in on how the country’s de minimis rule benefits Chinese companies. But levying duties on low-value shipments will only punish consumers and small businesses.

World leaders agree artificial intelligence in the wrong hands could be a threat to humanity and have taken steps to avoid such a scenario.

The debate on deglobalisation has become much more complex than when Donald Trump started putting up tariff barriers. But whether it’s global supply chains for chips or foreign investment flows, it seems there is no going back to the way world trade was.

Amid delays, higher costs and worker complaints, one wonders if TSMC’s plans in Arizona are anything other than an effort to stay in the US’ good graces.

Markets no longer have priority over national security, and economic interdependence with Beijing is considered a threat at the very least.

With competition throwing up market barriers, industry players in Hong Kong and around the world must do their best to keep lines of international communication as open as possible.

For all the talk of the benefits reshoring and ‘de-risking’ can bring domestic workers, they also introduce new risks to people’s way of life. Neither the US nor China can afford to ignore these new risks, including limited job creation, expensive subsidies and greater material costs.

With its strength in critical sectors like batteries and chips, South Korea’s suitability as a friendly shore is coloured by its companies’ dependence on Chinese inputs and demand. Extending China waivers for Korean companies, as the US has done, only undermines its own industry policy.