By: General Joseph F. Dunford Jr.; Frances F. Townsend; and Michael J. Morell
China is America’s greatest geopolitical threat.
Consider Beijing’s efforts to undermine the U.S.-led international order, its export of authoritarianism, mercantilist economic policies, military threat to Taiwan, and human rights abuses at home. And key to China’s success in achieving its aims, and key to our stopping them, is the race for global tech supremacy.
In recent years, Washington has rightly put a stronger emphasis on competing with China’s innovation efforts, the CHIPS Act is a key example as is the Biden Administration’s recent denial of exporting cutting-edge US microelectronics tech to China.
But as we look to the future, with the 118th Congress sworn in and ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address, much more must be done to check China’s growing tech influence and strengthen America’s competitive edge. Importantly, Washington must renew its focus on promoting U.S. innovation and championing our domestic private sector innovators.