The United States is determined to launch an economic war against its main rival, China, in a clear attempt to curb its technological advances, but the consequences for other countries are also unpredictable.
According to Joe Biden’s Banking House plan, the US will ban some investments by tech companies in the People’s Republic from next January, while others will require special permission.
Investments in semiconductor manufacturing, quantum computing and certain artificial intelligence areas will be particularly affected.
While Biden’s plan fell short, according to Republican politicians, some experts say they are primarily concerned about the damage it could do to the many American companies that do profitable business in China.
The North American semiconductor industry, which has a very important market in China and is also difficult to replenish, exposes itself to possible countermeasures that the Government in Beijing can take.
For his part, he accused Washington of wanting to hinder its economic development and said it would defend its “rights and interests” before Washington.
Washington will now seek to get its allies to do the same and take similar measures, something not everyone is willing to accept.
Such is the case with Japan, which has already declared that it will not participate in the restrictions Washington is trying to impose on them.
On the contrary, Green Robert Habeck, Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Economy, has once again shown signs of his party’s Atlanticism and, after some hesitation, is likely to follow Washington.
The European Commission said it would analyze the restrictive measures proposed by Biden in the best of faith.
Currently, some North American companies such as Sequoia, which are dedicated to managing investments in industries such as high-tech, have decided to separate their business in China from their business in the rest of the world. losing their lucrative business in that country. And that’s something other companies active out there are already thinking about.
The clear intention of the government in Washington is that other countries follow suit in an attempt to stifle China’s technological development, on the pretext that only this way can prevent its rival from rearming. As if the US were not performing a spectacular rearmament!
In general, many German and European companies do not seem very happy with the prospect of an economic war with the Asian giant, for which they have a significant market to be wasted.
And against the decision of the United States, they argue that the proposed restrictions violate in principle the rules of international trade, which in other cases the superpower is so fond of defending.
But something more alarming is the fantasy of some North American strategists who seem to believe that if the US makes significant progress against China in the use of the most modern technologies suitable for military use, it could even win a war against China. that country.