It has been a slow push, but China managed to make big strides in the tech industry over the past decade. The country pretty much revolutionized the mobile segment once led by the West. Worth noting, however, that the country’s goals are more ambitious than that. China wants to go beyond that and lead a new era in the tech segment. More than that, the country wants to have supremacy.
As per a new report from Britain’s cyber chief, via Reuters, China is aiming for “global tech supremacy” in cyberspace. The country will use all of its cyber skills to conduct intelligence and surveillance campaigns. Lindy Cameron, director of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of Britain’s GCHQ spy agency, states that there is a “legitimate concern” in this regard. The effects that a Chinese lead technology can have on security can’t be measured.
China does not want to be like the West, it wants to be better
China wants more than just to be equal to the West. The country aims to rule the tech world. She states that Western countries can’t afford to not keep pace with China. Otherwise, the country will eventually become the dominant force in this class. It is also using its cyber tech to acquire intellectual property. Further, it can benefit from these advances to push more on its geopolitical needs and spy agenda.
That may also explain why multiple governments across the world are banning the use of Chinese apps on government-issued devices. It happened in Canada and in the UK and the target was TikTok. The short video platform that belongs to the Chinese ByteDance is a target of concern. Most of the authorities believe that social media app is sharing user data with the government. Even if that is not the case right now, the West fears that China can eventually get access to the info of millions of users across the world. Hence, it can’t afford to leave the info of official people available on the app’s database.
Gizchina News of the week
The short video app is no longer allowed on official devices from the US, Canada, Belgium, and some countries in Europe. As you may expect, China, of course, condemns these bans. It states that most of the bans are politically motivated. It states that it’s not getting access to user data from ByteDance servers.
China learned a lesson with Huawei’s demise
A similar situation happened with Huawei. The US feared a possible involvement with the Chinese government and decided to apply a massive ban on the giant. A few years ago, the brand was giving large steps to become the world’s largest smartphone maker. However, with the plan, the company had to go through massive changes to remain alive.
With Huawei’s struggle, The Chinese government decided to “give a hand” by promoting local manufacturing. Through multiple efforts, the country expects to have in the coming years a solid chip manufacturing industry to compete with the likes of TSMC, Qualcomm, and others. This way, companies like Huawei will not need to depend too much on Western companies. Besides chip manufacturing, there are many other fronts on which the country expects to shine in the coming years.
Don’t get me wrong, although we call the ban “Huawei’s demise” the brand is alive and kicking. Despite the shortcomings, Huawei was able to launch new flagships this year with their impressive camera tech. The company also has its own operating system in the form of HarmonyOS and Huawei Mobile Services. In the future we expect the brand to have Chinese-made SoCs and to find a way to operate in 5G and, perhaps, in the upcoming 6G networks. The Chinese government will probably keep “incentivizing” other local brands to be “more Chinese”. Ultimately, we expect the country to keep evolving on the technological front. Now, with the rise of AI, we don’t think that China will stay dormant on this tech.
