Op-Ed: What Silicon Valley must sacrifice to curb China’s exploitation of U.S. tech
China’s increasing economic strength poses a threat to the future of world technology and, in most cases, the West’s ability to protect its interests. This becomes particularly clear with the recent acquisition of “Silicon Valley”. The United States has been a strong supporter of the development of technology and an increasing trend of cyber warfare, with the assistance of China. The current Chinese and Russian leaders are equally committed to global dominance. What is the response of the U.S. in terms of countermeasures to combat this threat?
With the recent acquisition of Silicon Valley by China’s ZTE, an international community is beginning to focus on the increasing threat to global technology by foreign countries.
The recent acquisition of the Chinese-owned smartphone company has led to increased scrutiny of the Chinese acquisition of U.S. technology companies. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has requested more information in regard to the deal.
But in order to provide greater insight into possible countermeasures, I will first outline the steps the U.S. should take to stem the Chinese acquisition of technology companies.
The acquisition by ZTE would give China a greater foothold in the global technology market with its vast financial resources.
The acquisition would give China a stronger foothold in the global technology market. With almost $6 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, a rapidly growing economy, and $500 billion in annual trade, China could buy up U.S. assets at a low cost.
Furthermore, China has become the world’s main producer of smartphones. Its growth has been fueled by the massive and rapid adoption of cheap devices. The China Mobile Smartphone division, for example, is estimated to have a 65 percent share of the global smartphone market.
In addition to the huge domestic market, the U.S. government and private industries would be faced with a rapidly growing Chinese smartphone market. Moreover, ZTE would bring a large amount of technology to China.
Given the ability of China to secure vast amounts of capital to purchase technology or assets, it is extremely unlikely that the U.S. government could stop the transaction.