The US tech industry’s increasingly hawkish attitude towards China has caused alarm among some observers who warn it could cause greater mistrust between the two countries.
Silicon Valley has become much more politicised in recent years, with leading figures such as Elon Musk donating vast sums to political campaigns, including Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid.
The US government has placed technological competition at the centre of its rivalry with Beijing. Meanwhile, tech lobbyists are “systematically” incorporating the concept of the “China threat” into their lobbying, according to an article published last month by the Journal of Contemporary Asia-Pacific Studies, a publication overseen by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The article said corporate leaders were “selectively” presenting information to tap into Washington’s concerns about China and “maximise” the chances of favourable policy decisions.
“The instrumentalisation of China-related issues in government-business interactions will further reinforce US misperceptions about China and intensify strategic mutual suspicion between the two sides,” warned the authors, Tan Yannan, a PhD student in international relations at Renmin University, and Sun Chenghao, a senior fellow of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University.
The researchers said an “emerging” generation of American tech leaders had used their Chinese competitors as a “strategic lever” to “proactively shape the policy agenda” in the United States.
