Part 7/11:
The implications of these decisions extend beyond economics. AI is increasingly intertwined with military, intelligence, and defense applications. China's doctrine of military-civil fusion means that every technological breakthrough—be it in chips, software, or hardware—could boost its military prowess, further challenging Western dominance.
Some analysts draw parallels between current US-China tensions and the 1930s pre-World War II power struggles, only this time fought with silicon wafers and neural networks instead of battleships and oil. Xi Jinping himself has emphasized the need to accelerate domestic innovation to hedge against international uncertainties, signaling the urgency for China to become a self-reliant technological powerhouse.