American policymakers often insist that adopting Chinese tech can expose people to Chinese espionage. A few years ago, the US went all out to persuade its global allies not to adopt 5G wireless from Huawei, a Chinese provider. This campaign was fairly successful. Britain, for example, reversed its decision to go with Huawei. But it is questionable whether similar American campaigns would now succeed.
The main argument that the US made against Huawei was that adopting their technology would open countries to surveillance and to economic coercion. But we now live in a world in which economic coercion is a mainstay of American statecraft and EU officials are told to take burner phones to the US.
CHINA BUFFING UP SOFT POWER
Beijing, meanwhile, is buffing up its soft power. Many Europeans can now travel there without visas. China’s DeepSeek has made its AI model open source, which has led to its rapid adoption around the world. And last week, China dropped tariffs on imports from almost all African countries. That made for a striking contrast with Washington’s announcement that it intends to impose 25 per cent tariffs on EU vehicles.
The US has long regarded India as a crucial partner in the battle to contain Chinese influence. But Trump seems to be going out of his way to alienate the Modi government – imposing heavy tariffs on India, praising Pakistan and recently sharing social media comments that described India as a “hellhole”.
In March, the Modi government announced that it will now allow fast-track approval for tech investments with minority Chinese ownership in seven strategic sectors.
The irony is that US warnings about the dangers of economic dependence on China have some merit. Beijing has shown itself willing and able to use its dominance of rare earths and critical mineral production as a geopolitical weapon.
To combat China’s growing economic power around the world, the US will need to create international partnerships. That will require rebuilding America’s stock of soft power. Otherwise Trump may find himself well and truly snookered by Xi.
