Xi Mobilizes China for Tech Revolution to Cut Dependence on West - Bloomberg bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Both are aiming for self-sufficiency in strategic areas, each fueled by fear the other wants to upend their political system: One that sees free speech and democracy as essential to prosperity, and another that puts one-party rule above individual liberty to deliver growth.
Xi wants to show the party can play a successful role in guiding the economy, particularly after Washington sought to undermine its legitimacy to rule and destroy national champions such as Huawei and SMIC, China’s largest microchip manufacturer.
Beijing’s confidence in its political system has grown after it quickly contained Covid-19 following delays by local officials in sharing info that allowed it to spread around the globe. Economists predict China’s economy will expand 8.3% this year, compared with 4.1% in the U.S.
The upcoming NPC will reveal details of longer-term plans to develop more than 30 “choke-hold” technologies China currently can’t produce, from chipmaking equipment to mobile-phone operating systems to aircraft design software.
The focus on technology and innovation is more urgent due to the waning efficiency of China’s economic model, which has relied on channeling credit into property investment and infrastructure to shore up growth.
China’s five-year plan will include measures to boost financing for semiconductors, treating the sector with the same kind of priority it once accorded to building its atomic capability.
Beijing’s push to achieve self-sufficiency is mainly a defensive move by the Communist Party, according to Meg Rithmire at Harvard Business School.
“If the CPC thought there were no dark storm clouds on the horizon, I don’t think they would be taking such a heavy hand.”
“If the CPC thought there were no dark storm clouds on the horizon, I don’t think they would be taking such a heavy hand.”
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