US tech supremacy and millions of jobs at stake if China gains 5G lead, congressional hearing told
- The rhetoric against Chinese hi-tech firms has been ramped up under the Trump administration
The United States stands to lose millions of jobs and its competitiveness if it does not check the ambitions of China to gain leadership in 5G mobile technology, a congressional hearing was told this week.
China has a coordinated state-led strategy for developing its science and technology that is not matched by the US federal government, Michael Wessel, the commissioner for the US-China Economic & Security Review Commission, said on Wednesday.
The measures employed by China involve both legal and illegal means, ranging from state subsidies to procurement protectionism to outright theft of intellectual property from US firms, said Wessel in his testimony to the Senate committee on commerce, science and transportation.
“China’s government pursues an aggressive development path to become a high-technology leader, but its approach emphasises Chinese technologies, and the companies that develop them, as the core of any future standards,” said Wessel in prepared remarks to the hearing, which was named “Winning the Race to 5G and the Next Era of Technology Innovation in the US”.
“China’s approach is the result of long-term planning, policy implementation and funding. In other words, government direction – supported by policy, politics, and generous subsidies – is driving China’s tech development,” he said.