The Two Sessions refer to the annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which are being held in Beijing. Among many topics to be covered, China's continued advance in high-tech areas and the challenges it has yet to confront are major focuses.
One of the key challenges looming over China's national high-tech ecosystem is the “small yard, high fence” policy—a strategic approach employed by some Western countries, especially the United States, to manage its technological competition with China. This strategy aims to protect critical technologies in certain areas allegedly allowing broader economic engagement.
Washington is tightening export controls on high-tech products, particularly in semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI), imposing sanctions on China's private high-tech companies aimed at curbing their technological advancements, placing a cap on U.S.-China research and development cooperation in sensitive areas and urging U.S. allies and partners to follow its footsteps. Over time, the "fence" gets higher and higher, while the “yard” gets larger and larger.
The “high fence” separating the U.S. and China's high-tech ecosystem cannot stop or even significantly slow down China's high-tech advancement. Instead, this unfortunate trend may lead to higher production costs, reduced global trade volumes, more fragmented and less stable markets, slower innovation and heightened geopolitical tensions.
There is no need to embark on this road in the first place. Policies like “small yard, high fence” cannot hinder China's pace of innovation and development, nor are closed and exclusionary measures a sustainable solution. China will continue to strengthen international scientific and technological cooperation with a more open attitude, promoting the improvement of global tech governance, sharing research resources and exchanging technological achievements. Through these efforts, China aims to drive global technological progress and inject new momentum into worldwide economic growth.
The Two Sessions refer to the annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which are being held in Beijing. Among many topics to be covered, China's continued advance in high-tech areas and the challenges it has yet to confront are major focuses.
One of the key challenges looming over China's national high-tech ecosystem is the “small yard, high fence” policy—a strategic approach employed by some Western countries, especially the United States, to manage its technological competition with China. This strategy aims to protect critical technologies in certain areas allegedly allowing broader economic engagement.
Washington is tightening export controls on high-tech products, particularly in semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI), imposing sanctions on China's private high-tech companies aimed at curbing their technological advancements, placing a cap on U.S.-China research and development cooperation in sensitive areas and urging U.S. allies and partners to follow its footsteps. Over time, the "fence" gets higher and higher, while the “yard” gets larger and larger.
The U.S. approach to managing its high-tech competition with China comes from its deeply rooted assumption that socialism does not properly reward initiative and innovation. Therefore, China lacks the creativity needed to be truly successful with new technologies. It is falsely claimed that numerous success stories in high-tech demonstrated by Chinese businesses come only from either stealing or copying U.S. prototypes. Hence, by depriving Beijing of unrestricted access to U.S. resources, Washington believes it can can guarantee itself a decisive victory in the high-tech race against Beijing.
And here is the catch. The reality of today defies this condescending and arrogant U.S. attitude toward Chinese capabilities. In a variety of high-tech areas, China is not an imitator, but an unquestionable bellwether. 5G technology stands as a good example. A prime example is 5G technology. Having deployed the largest 5G network in the world, with Chinese companies holding over 40 percent of global 5G-related patents, China is at the forefront of the technology.
China has rapidly developed a robust AI ecosystem, with a laser focus on practical applications like facial recognition and industrial automation. Major tech companies are heavily investing in AI technologies, which are transforming not only the economy but also multiple aspects of society including healthcare and education.
Remarkable progress has also been made in the realm of quantum computing, marked by breakthroughs like the development of the “Jiuzhang 3.0” quantum processor, which surpassed traditional computers in solving complex problems. China is also the largest global innovator in renewable energy, especially in solar infrastructure, as exemplified by large-scale projects like the photovoltaic power project in the Tengger Desert.
In its high-tech competition with China, the United States relies on its vast talent pool, well-developed financial and business infrastructure like the unique Silicon Valley in California, as well as a broad range of technologically advanced allies and partners.
China, on the other hand, has comparative advantages inseparable from the fundamentals of its political system. Beijing has the capability to engage in long-term planning and quest for high-tech self-sufficiency. It is capable of mobilizing both financial and intellectual resources to support the most important technological tasks in a sustained and planned manner.
In terms of cost efficiency, the recently released China-made DeepSeek AI model has demonstrated that an advanced AI system can be developed at a fraction of the cost incurred by U.S. counterparts like OpenAI. The total training price tag for DeepSeek's model was reported to be under $6 million, while similar models from U.S. companies have cost many billions. This stark difference challenges the conventional U.S. assumption that substantial financial resources are necessary for cutting-edge AI development and raises questions about the sustainability of U.S. dominance in this field.
There is nothing wrong with international competition in the high-tech field. However, artificial restrictions, politically guided sanctions and other manifestations of antiquated hegemonic ambitions should not compromise the fair market competition that American politicians have always claimed to stand for.
The “high fence” separating the U.S. and China's high-tech ecosystem cannot stop or even significantly slow down China's high-tech advancement. Instead, this unfortunate trend may lead to higher production costs, reduced global trade volumes, more fragmented and less stable markets, slower innovation and heightened geopolitical tensions.
There is no need to embark on this road in the first place. Policies like “small yard, high fence” cannot hinder China's pace of innovation and development, nor are closed and exclusionary measures a sustainable solution. China will continue to strengthen international scientific and technological cooperation with a more open attitude, promoting the improvement of global tech governance, sharing research resources and exchanging technological achievements. Through these efforts, China aims to drive global technological progress and inject new momentum into worldwide economic growth.
First published in the CGTN.
