China can win the global technological race, according to the analytical center of the Google ex CEO, Eric Schmidt

Google ex-CEO Eric Schmidt’s think tank says China can still win the tech race, reported The Register. The American Center for Special Competitive Studies Project, which is a private spinout of the US National Security Commission, has warned that the period from 2025 to 2030 will be a time when global technological leadership will be determined, and China can gain an advantage over the US.

The project of special studies of competitiveness is headed by the former head of Google, Eric Schmidt. The Project itself was created in October 2021, and the first publication of the organization appeared last Monday under the title “Mid-Decade Challenges to National Competitiveness”. The document states that microelectronics, artificial intelligence and 5G will define national power.

The US is completely dependent on microelectronics, but most of it is produced “in the shadow” of China. If China were to control chip factories and cut off the supply of raw materials needed to manufacture them, “America’s military is crippled, and the nation is plunged into a depression,” the authors of the document believe.

5G is critical because Chinese firms have led the development and deployment of hardware, giving Beijing the ability to control network equipment around the world, while artificial intelligence is important because China associates it with national security. However, the US plan to do the same is behind Beijing’s plan by four years, according to the authors of the study.

Furthermore, the US has so far less opportunity to catch up because it has allowed its manufacturing base to shrink and has not considered or developed effective technology management.

The document suggests that the United States urgently revise its innovation policy and practice in order to ensure cooperation between the private and public sectors, revitalization of local production, development of national AI management, reform of military strategy, and the strategy of conducting combat operations. In addition, the authors of the study advise the country to work with allies and fight China’s attempts to introduce ideas favorable to authoritarianism into global technological standards.