Share
The Washington Post
The Blacklisting of Huawei Might Be China’s Sputnik Moment
Many of us have been waiting for a new Sputnik moment, the point at which the challenge from China spurs the United States to get its act together. We may now be witnessing such a watershed, but in Beijing. The Trump administration’s decision to blacklist Huawei — the world’s seventh-largest technology company — might well be China’s Sputnik moment, with seismic consequences.
The administration has provided some temporary exemptions to the blacklist, but it seems that Huawei will lose key hardware (ARM’s chip design) and software (from Google) that it relies on for its cellphones and associated technology. This move can be interpreted only as an attempt by the Trump administration to kill the company, already the world’s second-largest maker of smartphones.
The Chinese will see this as a turning point. If Washington can cut China off from American technology at will, China will be determined to build its own technological infrastructure, top to bottom. Huawei, anticipating this moment, has been developing its own operating system, which doesn’t rely on U.S. companies, and says it could be in place by year’s end. (Losing ARM would actually be a much more crippling loss for the Chinese company, making it extremely difficult for Huawei to produce its own chips.) Watching China’s technological prowess these days, it is easy to imagine the country rising to this challenge.
By Fareed Zakaria | 23 May 2019
RELATED TOPICS:
Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle
13 hours ago
Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing
13 hours ago
Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents
14 hours ago
House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill
12 hours ago
Categories

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing
