June 02, 2022
Can Russia Rebuild Its Tech Sector with China's Help?
This article was originally published by War on the Rocks.
The far-reaching export controls the United States and others imposed in response to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine were meant to have long-term erosive effects, but their impact on Russia has already been tangible. This is particularly true in the semiconductor sector. Moscow’s attempts to kick-start homegrown production of semiconductors and electronic components, which started in 2021, have unsurprisingly produced meager results, and the Western technology required to launch an indigenous chip sector is now further out of reach. China will thus play a crucial role in the future of Russia’s tech sector, but a complicated one. While China’s geopolitical sympathies lie with Russia, active support would likely run afoul of the allied export controls and put China’s own chip ambitions at risk.
China will play a crucial role in the future of Russia’s tech sector, but a complicated one.
In the first wave of sanctions after Feb. 24, the United States and more than 30 other countries introduced sweeping export controls on strategic technology items to Russia, including semiconductors, information-security and telecommunications systems, electronics, and computers. While Western nations already heavily restricted the export of military or dual-use technology to Russia, the new measures broke fresh ground in the use of export controls as a sanctioning instrument. Before the invasion, export controls were primarily used as an arms-control instrument. Russia is a participant in the multilateral Wassenaar Arrangement, a voluntary, consensus-based agreement among 42 members that was established in 1996 to set export controls on dual-use technology as part of a broader post-Cold War order. Now, export controls have been used to degrade the ability of a single country to project military power, marking a generational change in the use of this instrument.
Read the full article from War on the Rocks.
More from CNAS
-
The Axis of Upheaval
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was a critical catalyst for cooperation among Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea—what the authors call the “axis of upheaval....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Nicholas Lokker
-
Ziemba: Oil Markets in ‘Show Me the Outage’ Mode
Oil rose a second day on optimism over US trade talks ahead of next week’s deadline, and as tightness in diesel markets boosts sentiment. Rachel Ziemba, adjunct senior fellow ...
By Rachel Ziemba
-
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Don’t Let Tariffs Ruin America’s Quantum LeadershipMounting costs and bureaucracy are derailing U.S. quantum innovation....
By Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante
-
Transatlantic Security / Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
Respect Umpires — on the Field and in the CourtroomCongress shouldn’t let the administration’s contempt slide. None of us should....
By Will Rogers