Description
This paper aims at updating the debate on the bilateral relationship between the United States and China by studying the increasingly relevant technological side of such a relationship. Preliminary research points to a shift in the US discourse on China from one of engagement and beneficial interdependence to another of strategic competition and threats. This is especially evident if one looks at what some commentators and policymakers have been calling the USA-China Tech War.
Drawing on the insights of the Copenhagen School's Securitization Theory, this paper will address two main research questions (RQ).
RQ1: How did a tech company such as Huawei become a key national security issue? In other words, how has it been securitized? That is, moved from being ordinary public policy to being national security policy?
RQ2: Has the USA been successful in convincing other countries (especially its Five Eyes partners) to espouse the securitization of such technologies?
In considering these questions, the paper will cover the US discourse and policies on China during the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations.
