March 22, 2018
With Trump economic crackdown, a new era in U.S.–China relations
The Trump administration announced today a plan to levy investment restrictions and roughly $60 billion worth of tariffs on China in response to its widespread violation of U.S. intellectual property rights. The message to Beijing is clear: Washington will no longer overlook China’s systematic efforts to acquire American technology.
Why it matters: These economic policies mark the dawn of a new era in U.S.–China relations. Though once a source of stability between the world's two most powerful nations, commerce and investment will from now on be a flashpoint.
The big picture: Beijing pursues U.S. technology by extracting intellectual property from U.S. firms operating in China, investing in American companies and startups, and opening research centers in the U.S. to tap American talent. While the tariffs might compel China to improve its domestic treatment of American firms, they leave most of China's practices unaffected. Limitations on Chinese investment in the U.S. — if carefully scoped and adaptable to Beijing’s evolving toolkit — would do more.
Read the full op-ed on Axios.
More from CNAS
-
China's post-Covid 19 'techno-nationalist' industrial policy
Commentary
While Covid-19 brings China one step closer to technology-perfected authoritarianism through improvised health apps and real-time surveillance, Europe is busy looking inward. ...
By Rebecca Arcesati & Martijn Rasser
-
Converging Chinese and Russian Disinformation Compounds Threat to Democracy
Commentary
In recent weeks the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda and disinformation blitz around COVID-19 has drawn increasing attention, and with good reason. In addition to pr...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & David Shullman
-
U.S.-China relations are in a free fall, says expert
Video
Former State Department official Anja Manuel joins Morning Joe to discuss why she says U.S.-China relations are in a free fall. Watch the full conversation on MSNBC....
By Anja Manuel
-
The United States Can’t Afford to Turn Away Chinese Talent
Commentary
Intellectual property theft is a real concern, and China has been the world’s foremost infringer. But a blanket exclusion of Chinese students from U.S. academic and scien...
By Elsa B. Kania & Lindsay Gorman
