The U.S. Wants to Rally 24 Countries to Fully Contain China, but Spain Says: I Won’t Join
At the end of July, the United States officially launched an exclusive 6G alliance, rallying 24 countries including the UK, Germany, and Japan into cooperation. Under the guise of technological security collaboration, the real intent is crystal clear: aligning national 6G development strategies and uniting to compete for international standard voting power, aiming to comprehensively restrict China’s global influence in communications technology before 6G commercialization in 2030—essentially replicating the strategy used to contain 5G.
However, this meticulously constructed circle of allies was outright rejected by Spain.
Spain's response was clear: the country will not join this highly targeted alliance. The Spanish government did not beat around the bush, directly stating that Sino-Spanish economic and industrial ties have long been close and strong, making it unnecessary to sacrifice bilateral cooperation to please the United States.
Interestingly, major European powers like Germany and France have followed suit and joined the initiative, yet fellow EU member Spain has firmly maintained neutrality—revealing a deep rift within the EU over technological stance. The interests of European nations differ sharply: Germany and France, home to Nokia and Ericsson, hope to leverage U.S. pressure to weaken Chinese equipment vendors; Spain, on the other hand, prioritizes stable orders from China in solar energy, automobiles, and digital trade, unwilling to risk its business due to geopolitical rivalry.
The U.S., despite its loud rhetoric, faces fatal weaknesses. While dominant in chips and software, it lacks a complete communication hardware manufacturing supply chain. Its base stations and network equipment remain heavily dependent on European and Japanese firms. In short, the U.S. cannot domestically produce full-scale 6G infrastructure equipment—it can only rely on forming alliances to collectively vote for rules, revealing a fundamental lack of industrial strength, forcing it to compensate with diplomacy.
A more critical factor lies in timing: the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27), which will decide global 6G spectrum and technical frameworks, is set to take place in Shanghai in 2027. Fearing being outmaneuvered at the upcoming negotiations, the U.S. rushed to unify its allies’ positions beforehand. Spain, unwilling to be prematurely tied down by the U.S., chose neutrality—preserving flexibility to advocate for its own national interests during future international talks.
5G has already proven that isolating communication technologies through bloc barriers doesn’t work—the globalized industrial supply chain is too resilient to be severed by small cliques. Spain’s choice reflects the true mindset of many nations today: rather than following the U.S. in confrontation, maintaining stable cross-border industrial cooperation better serves long-term interests. The U.S.’s 6G containment wall is already showing visible cracks from the start.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872130681750731/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.