Catherine Tan
In October 2022, the Biden administration introduced export controls to limit China’s access to advanced US semiconductors and technologies, aiming to maintain US technological superiority and address security concerns. These controls, targeting areas such as advanced chips and supercomputer components, were tightened in 2023. While the controls have disrupted China’s semiconductor industry in the short term, concerns persist about their long-term effectiveness and potential Chinese retaliation, along with significant policy gaps that will be explored further in the following brief.
“Small Yard, High Fence”: The Biden Administration’s Strategy
In the early 2000s, bringing China into the global community was widely seen as a strategic decision. The Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations supported integrating China’s economy into the international rules-based system, believing economic interdependence would promote stability and mutual economic gain. However, this did not lead to China’s democratization as hoped. Instead, China has used this economic partnership to implement a “Military-Civil Fusion” plan, which uses civilian technology—much of it from US partners—to strengthen China’s military capabilities. Many have now come to see technological ties with China as a potential vulnerability. Concurrently, however, the United States has recognized its own capacity to exploit this interdependence to gain strategic advantages over China.
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