The technological ‘de-coupling’ of the US and China is underway - Jon Bateman (Carnegie Endowment)

Summary: A partial “decoupling” of U.S. and Chinese technology ecosystems is well underway, driven in part by U.S. restrictions such as export controls, investment screening, licensing denials, visa bans, sanctions, tariffs, and the like. The Biden administration’s latest export controls on semiconductors and chip-making equipment marked the boldest move yet to restrain China’s tech sector, and officials have said that more tough measures are on the way. What does the U.S. government hope to achieve with the China-tech relationship? How can Washington strike a proper balance that avoids excessive interdependence as well as overzealous disconnection? How far might decoupling progress, and what kind of economic and political order could emerge in the aftermath? Bio: Jon Bateman is a senior fellow in the Technology and International Affairs Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His focus areas include techno-nationalism, cyber operations, and influence operations. He is the author of “U.S.-China Technological 'Decoupling': A Strategy and Policy Framework.” Bateman previously served in the U.S. government as special assistant to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr.; as director for cyber strategy implementation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; and as a senior intelligence analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency. His commentary has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Politico, Harvard Business Review, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, the Hill, Slate, Techdirt, and elsewhere. Bateman is a graduate of Harvard Law School (JD) and Johns Hopkins University (BA).