Technology export restrictions amp up relational power conflict between the U.S. and China

Hailey Brown - The Biden Administration announced new restrictions on the sale of semiconductor technology to China last week. Now facing limited access to these essential technologies, China’s advancement of military programs is stalled. These new restrictions are a heightened response to the continual, multidimensional relational power struggle between the U.S. and China. 

Relational power defines a country’s level of power through its interactions with other countries. Power relations are at work when countries try to gain or maintain superiority over another. The restrictions imposed by the Biden administration are one such power play with regard to China. The U.S. used to be years ahead in technology development, but other countries, including China, have begun to close the gap. The restrictions are comprehensive, prohibiting international sale of any chips made in part by the U.S. to China. This severely impacts China’s access to this technology, as the U.S. and other countries' semiconductor development industries trump their own. China’s hastily growing military and technological power will become less of a threat as lack of access to vital components slows their ability to develop at a rapid rate. 

The U.S. acts on the assumption that they are a leading military and technology power, a role that informs their geopolitical code. They aim to maintain as large a lead as possible against competitors when it comes to certain technologies in order to preserve this relational power advantage. China, a growing superpower, threatens this status, influencing the Biden administration to continually increase technology regulation. Both countries see technological development as an important calculation in their geopolitical code.