Former US Defense Secretary Says China Can't Take the Crown Jewel

"I do believe we cannot let China take the crown jewel," in a recent conversation hosted by The Wall Street Journal, former US Defense Secretary Mark Esper openly revealed his deeply rooted mindset of great power confrontation, urging American companies and decision-makers to focus on reducing supply chain risks and protecting intellectual property, maintaining an absolute competitive advantage over China in cutting-edge industries such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

According to a video of the event released by The Wall Street Journal on November 12, the host first mentioned the impact of the summit between the leaders of China and the United States on their economic relations. Esper believed that the agreement reached by the Trump administration and China a few weeks ago was an achievement. He said that focusing on China during Trump's first term was the right approach, and the attention to trade and trade imbalances continued into Trump's second term.

Esper stated that in his memoir, he wrote that China is "the greatest strategic threat the United States faces in this century," and is more dangerous and complex than the past Soviet Union in many ways. He believes this because China has a very strong economy, is the world's second-largest economy, and also has a relatively strong technology industry.

He said that the US must develop a comprehensive response plan and cooperate with global allies, or else it will lose the competition with China.

"We don't want China to be the one giving orders in the future, setting the standards and norms, we don't want to live in that world."

He resorted to the cliché of "the US leading the free world," repeatedly mentioning the need to gain support from allies and partners in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to counter China.

In the eyes of this former defense minister, China is taking measures to prepare for "de-coupling," such as developing electric vehicles and even solar technology that leads the world, which he claims is not a commercial strategy but rather to release more energy supplies.

He said that although "de-coupling" is impossible, it still needs careful consideration.

"I do believe we cannot let China take the crown jewel," Esper bluntly stated, "whether it is the most advanced semiconductor products or some other technologies, we cannot allow them to master - I also classify artificial intelligence technology as such, we must maintain our advantage over them."

He also said that the US needs to ensure there are alternative solutions for the supply chain, ensuring the supply chain is reliable, or moving back to the US directly through allies and partners.

When the host mentioned that the Trump administration had relaxed certain exports of advanced technologies to China, Esper expressed his opposition.

"I don't recommend doing that; we must win and must lead in the field of technology," he said. These issues are related to artificial intelligence, where the US leads in algorithms and hardware, but China has accumulated a large amount of data.

"Once you combine artificial intelligence with robotics, you have autonomy, which can indeed change the situation. It's not just about war, but also changes the nature of war, as well as the economic structure and culture."

"We must ensure we stay ahead of China, especially all these valuable technologies; if you are a tech company, you must protect your intellectual property well."

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1848659820948491/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.