Under the tide of global economic integration, technology exports, as an important form of economic cooperation between countries, should serve as a bridge to promote common development. However, when technology exports encounter the undercurrents of geopolitical tensions, their impact goes far beyond the purely economic realm. For a long time, China has exported advanced technologies such as tunnel boring machines (TBMs), ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission systems, and smelting techniques to India, which was a reflection of China's industrial achievements going global. Yet, reality is alarming; these technologies have been inadvertently used by India in sensitive border areas, transforming into tools to enhance its strategic capabilities, seriously threatening China's national security. In 2024, China implemented strict export controls on dual-use technologies such as TBMs and rare earth components, a move that serves as a heavy blow, signaling a need for China to re-examine the balance between economic interests and geopolitical risks, and also triggering a profound reflection among the entire Chinese population on the strategy of technology exports.
Since 2020, China's tunnel boring machines, representing advanced tunnel construction equipment, have continuously been sent to India. In projects such as the Mumbai coastal highway and the Bangalore metro, super-large tunnel boring machines with a diameter of 12.19 meters have performed outstandingly. Their powerful rock excavation capability can easily handle basalt with a compressive strength of 200 megapascals. The unique eight-rim cutter head and 20-inch roller cutter design are specifically tailored for complex geological environments. The impressive achievement of China's tunnel boring machines capturing two-thirds of the global market share demonstrates China's absolute leading position in this field.
However, this advantage has turned into a threat to China due to India's improper use. In the disputed area of Ladakh on the China-India border, India has used some of China's tunnel boring machines for the construction of the Sela Pass tunnel. This 2,500-meter-long tunnel is like a knife inserted into China's border defense strategy, significantly reducing the time required for Indian military supplies transportation by 80%, thereby weakening China's original natural terrain barrier advantage. Previously, China had confidence in its rapid technological iteration and complete industrial chain, overlooking the strict control over the final use of technology exports. In the absence of precision manufacturing capabilities, India has broken through its own limitations through the input of Chinese technology, skillfully converting civilian technology into military strategic support, which is undoubtedly a major miscalculation in China's technology export strategy.
Compared to tunnel boring machines, the export of UHV and smelting technologies to India lacks detailed public data, but the potential risks are no less significant. UHV technology, as a key factor for efficient long-distance power transmission, if applied by India in border military areas, such as the power supply network construction of the Ladakh base, will greatly enhance the stability and sustainability of Indian military logistics, effectively countering China's advantages in infrastructure construction. In terms of smelting technology, the output of China's advanced high-strength steel production processes has indirectly injected strong momentum into India's defense industry, providing technical support for the production of advanced armor and missile components. Especially in the field of rare earth smelting, China's long-term accumulated technological advantages, if not strictly controlled in the export process, could lead to the loss of China's strategic resource advantages, allowing countries such as India to achieve a leap forward in related fields, thus posing a potential threat to China's national security.
In the steel and aluminum industries, Chinese enterprise technical support has enabled India to achieve a leapfrog development. The equipment from China's Steel Group helped Tata Group build a large blast furnace of 4060 cubic meters, completing the construction in just 28 months, with a daily iron water output of up to 15,000 tons, and all technical parameters approaching those of China's advanced steel mills. Huawei's 5G control system achieves precise monitoring of refractory bricks in the blast furnace at a level of 0.5℃, while Dongfang Electric's top gas recovery turbine system increases the energy efficiency of the blast furnace by 12%, saving 300 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. With the help of these technologies, India's steel production capacity has exceeded 205 million tons, with an annual growth rate of 5% between 2016 and 2024, far exceeding China's 2.76% during the same period.
In the aluminum industry, advanced extrusion forming technology has prompted India's production of aluminum alloy channels to increase from 500,000 tons in 2022 to over 700,000 tons by 2025. After acquiring technological development, India quickly became a strong competitor for Chinese enterprises in the international market. Indian steel bars, with a price advantage of 15% lower than China's, successfully captured the Southeast Asian market. More painfully, India's recruitment of 47 Chinese engineers led to the leakage of China's core processes, and in April 2025, India imposed a 12% temporary tariff on Chinese steel, causing a sharp decline of 53% in China's steel exports to India. These events highlight the serious competitive threats and strategic dilemmas China faces in technology exports.
Facing the various risks brought about by technology exports, in 2024, China quickly introduced the "Dual-Use Items Export Control List," incorporating key components such as tunnel boring machines and rare earth motors into it, establishing a strict terminal use review mechanism. In contract clauses, it is clearly stipulated that the relevant equipment must not be used for sensitive military projects, and any breach would result in severe penalties, including three times the compensation. India previously delayed payments for tunnel boring machines designed by Germany and manufactured in China, resulting in the equipment being stranded in Chinese ports. This incident not only exposed India's financial difficulties in the process of acquiring technology but also highlighted its severe dependence on Chinese technology. Now, the terminal use review mechanism acts like a sword of Damocles, effectively preventing India from using Chinese technology for military purposes, ensuring the safety and legitimacy of China's technology exports from the source.
China has implemented a tiered export strategy, strictly retaining cutting-edge technologies such as tunnel boring machine intelligent control systems and UHV core algorithms. This strategy makes India rely on Chinese maintenance and spare parts supply for its use of Chinese technology equipment. Taking tunnel boring machines as an example, when India encounters complex technical problems such as replacing the cutter head, due to its lack of technical capabilities, it can only seek help from China, making it impossible to achieve independent operation of the equipment. Through this method of tiered technology output, China firmly grasps the initiative in technology exports, ensuring that India can enjoy part of the technological achievements while struggling to overcome key technological bottlenecks, effectively maintaining China's technological leadership and strategic advantages in the relevant fields.
China has fully leveraged its advantages in key resource sectors such as rare earths, tightening the control over rare earth exports. As the dominant force in global rare earth production and supply, China's actions directly affect 90% of India's defense precision manufacturing industry, causing a shortage of raw materials in the production of advanced weapons and equipment. At the same time, China has expanded the scope of resource control to rare elements in the aluminum industry, such as scandium and vanadium, further limiting the development of India's related industries. Additionally, China has joined forces with coal suppliers such as Australia and Mongolia, regulating coking coal prices to exert pressure on India's steel industry, which heavily relies on coking coal imports, thereby forming a comprehensive countermeasure against the development of India's related industries, and strongly safeguarding China's strategic interests and national security.
The process of China's technology exports to India is undoubtedly a challenging and risky geopolitical game. In the short term, India has achieved rapid expansion of production capacity and initial development of its industries through Chinese technology; however, in the long run, its potential in cost competition, talent attraction, and military technology conversion has already posed a substantial threat to China. China is expected to achieve an organic unity of market expansion and national security protection in the complex and changing international market, laying a solid foundation for the country's long-term development. This is not only an urgent need to address current geopolitical challenges, but also a strategic responsibility that all Chinese people should deeply think about and actively promote.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533148807337574953/
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