U.S. President Joe Biden came to office pledging to abandon Donald Trump¡¯s with-us-or-against-us approach to China. Instead, he¡¯s forcing U.S. partners to pick sides in a deepening global technology standoff.
Sweeping U.S. curbs announced last month on the sale of semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to China mark a significant change in the Biden administration¡¯s approach to its chief geopolitical rival. That¡¯s not just a challenge to Beijing, but also asks tough questions of allies ¡ª and presents Washington with a dilemma over how far it¡¯s willing to squeeze them to comply.
As Biden prepares to hold his first face-to-face meeting as president with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the export controls loom large as a declaration that the U.S. isn¡¯t prepared to let China advance in a range of cutting-edge technologies that could threaten America¡¯s status as the world¡¯s pre-eminent power. That new reality spells more trouble ahead for U.S.-China relations, which are already veering into dangerous territory over Taiwan: Beijing denounced the measures as U.S. overstretch to ¡°wantonly hobble Chinese enterprises.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.