Description
In the last few years, the intensifying great power rivalry between the United States and China has arguably become a structural feature in international relations. Encompassing both economic and security issues, the Sino-American competition has recently turned its attention to the technological realm. China has demonstrated it can rapidly advance its ability to both manufacture and develop cutting-edge technologies, from artificial intelligence to information and communication technologies. China’s rise as a tech superpower has alerted many countries across the globe, especially US allies, prompting fears over Beijing’s true long-term ambitions on the international stage. Yet, despite much speculation, the drivers and goals of China’s rising technological prowess have not been systematically investigated: this paper seeks to fill in the gap and examine why China intends to become a tech superpower. Framed through the lenses of grand strategy with an emphasis on the role of strategic ideas, this paper aims to assess the objectives behind China’s technological ambitions and argues that for Beijing technology represents simultaneously a status-seeking, a security-seeking, and an influence-seeking instrument of power.
