Since May, Chinese officials have been counselling, cajoling, even banning state companies and government agencies from buying US high-tech goods, while the state press has lambasted America’s tech giants as “pawns” of the country’s intelligence agencies.
In the shadow of spying allegations being hurled by both sides, talks between officials of both countries at the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue got under way yesterday in Beijing. The thorny issue of US corporate access to Chinese consumers will be a key topic of discussion, and the dispute demonstrates how far apart the two sides are.
So far, say many US businessmen privately, China is just escalating a war of words. But few doubt Beijing’s intention behind them. Following revelations from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden about the US technology sector’s alleged complicity in spying, China has decided to act decisively to buy more locally and rely less on large tech companies such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Cisco.