Tit for Tat, Not TikTok, Spurs Chinese Innovation
August 5, 2021
I don’t think of Foreign Affairs magazine as a hot technology read. Its articles conjure memories of political science. Yeah, that’s right “science” in politics.
However, I did read an interesting essay called “China’s Sputnik Moment?” (Get your credit card, gentle reader, the information may be behind a paywall.)
The main point is that the humiliation of a Chinese Go expert sounded the alert to Chinese technologists. The result is that the Middle Kingdom shifted gears and started “innovating.” The idea that China was losing to a group of Westerners was unpalatable.
You may want to check out the original essay. I want to highlight one passage from the write up as characteristic of the article:
China’s industrial policy has failed.
Well, there you have it. And what’s China beavering away at?
Beijing is pushing hard for technological self-sufficiency.
And how is that working out? The article asserts:
The combined efforts of China’s state drive and its innovative industry will accelerate the country’s technological advancement.
What’s the outlook for China with regard to US policies?
The author concludes:At this point, no effort on behalf of the U.S. government can deter China’s state from its end goal of industrial self-sufficiency.
Those US teens’ clicks of TikTok are count downs it seems.
Stephen E Arnold, August 5, 2021
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