BBC Focus - 03.2020

REALITY CHECK

hadreceived$75bn(£58bn) worth of Chinese state
aidinvariousforms.
InearlyFebruary,France,Germany,ItalyandPoland
askedtheEUCommissiontopushbackagainstwhat
theydeemedtobeunfaircompetitionfrombothUS
andChinesefirms.ButEurope’sweaknesson5G,
andnewtechnologicaldevelopmentmorewidely,
cannotonlybeattributedtoskewedcompetition.
It isasmuchtheresultof a lack of strategic vision
andindustrialpolicy.
Ifanything,thiscontroversyemphasisesthe
importanceofpoliticalwill.Withoutit,intheUK
justaselsewhere,marketforcesarelikelytotake
precedenceoverconsiderations of sovereignty or
strategic autonomy.

byARTHURLAUDRAIN
(@APB Laudrain)
Arthuris a doctoralresearcherincybersecurityattheUniversityof
Oxford.Hestudiesissuesat the intersection of technology and
international security.

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