A recently published study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), entitled, “ASPI’s Critical Technology Tracker: The global race for future power,” warns that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is beating the pants off American researchers in “37 of 44 technologies examined.” If the US Department of Defense was surprised by a launch of a hypersonic rocket in August 2021, there are more potentially worrisome Beijing breakthroughs to come. Technologies critical to the design, development, and production of weapons and equipment to defeat current and future threats must be a priority for the US. ASPI’s analysis is not a “sky is falling” harbinger of doom but a wake-up call. As the Australian policy institute explains:
“Western democracies are losing the global technological competition, including the race for scientific and research breakthroughs, and the ability to retain global talent—crucial ingredients that underpin the development and control of the world’s most important technologies, including those that don’t yet exist. Our research reveals that China has built the foundations to position itself as the world’s leading science and technology superpower…”
Chinese Research Capability
According to the study, the PRC leads in research areas like defense and space-related technologies, whereas the US maintains prominence in high-performance computing, quantum computing, and vaccines. The primary metric focuses on research. For example, ASPI found it revealing that “all of the world’s top 10 leading research institutions are based in China and are collectively generating nine times more high-impact research papers than the second-ranked country (most often the US).” Additionally, ASPI considers the number of peer-reviewed papers published by research institutions an essential indicator of technology prowess. For example, the study pointed out that the PRC’s researchers generated more than 48% of the influential papers on advanced aircraft engines, including hypersonic engines.
In the area of semiconductor and computer chip technology, China has turned research into a product. “After working for years to catch up on US technology, China has developed a chip that can rival Nvidia’s A100,” The Wall Street Journal reports. Nvidia’s A100 was considered the fastest and most advanced computer chip used in a host of microelectronics ranging from commercial self-driving cars to sophisticated weapon systems. That is until now, with the introduction of the BIRENTM BR100, which some analysts consider even faster and more competitive, according to the WSJ.
Using the ASPI’s metrics generates valuable data points for addressing how to compete more effectively against America’s number one competitor. Though pushing out academic papers indicates the level of advanced scientific thinking Beijing sponsors, translating research into manufacturable end products is often tricky. In that area, the ASPI study leaves the impression that despite all its research publications, the Chinese may not have “successful strategies for translating research breakthroughs to commercial systems and products that are fed into an efficient manufacturing base.” Recent US congressional and defense industrial base initiatives, though late out of the starting gate, are gaining momentum to counter Beijing’s burgeoning high-tech threats.
(Photo by Hou Yu/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
Initiatives to Address China Technology Threats
The new Republican-led House of Representatives established the Select Committee on US-China Competition to investigate the threat the PRC represents to the US. In the initial session, Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) set the tone and the direction of the committee’s intentions in his opening statement, saying, “I believe our policy over the next ten years will set the stage for the next hundred. We cannot allow the CCP tech power to still prevail.” Furthermore, Congress passed legislation called the “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS)” Act to address the need to bring the microelectronics development, testing, and packaging supply chain back to the US.
Additionally, the federal government is applying greater scrutiny to the 290,000 Chinese students getting degrees in disciplines critical to building the PRC’s technology base in competition with the US. Addressing the persistent and destructive CCP theft of US intellectual property and industrial espionage is becoming more imperative for federal law enforcement. “The counterintelligence and economic espionage efforts emanating from the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party are a grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States,” according to the FBI’s “What We Investigate” information webpage.
The ASPI report should be a call to action. Starting in earnest with former President Trump’s administration, an all-of-government approach to recognizing the threat China poses and implementing appropriate countermeasures is taking shape. In addition, working with trusted allies and friends in onshoring technology research, design, and development should be a priority for the US industrial base. The CCP is a real threat every day. Recognizing that fact is a big step in the right direction.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliation.
