NatSec Tech Episode 81: Jaap van Etten on Rethinking Tech Policy in the U.S.-China Competition
Jul 9, 2025
Jaap van Etten, Co-founder and CEO of Datenna, shares his expertise on tracking China's tech and military fusion. He discusses the historical context of U.S.-China technology transfer pressures. The conversation delves into China's industrial strategies and the importance of intelligence-gathering. Van Etten emphasizes the need for Western nations to harmonize export controls and enhance open-source intelligence for national security. As he navigates the competitive landscape, he advocates for friendly competition and strategic partnerships amid geopolitical tensions.
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From Diplomat To OSINT Startup
- Jaap van Etten left government and built a company to monitor China's tech acquisitions.
- He began by manually scraping public Chinese sources and later automated the process.
Dynamic Knowledge Graph For China Tech
- Jaap van Etten's team builds a dynamic knowledge graph linking universities, companies, labs, and directors across China.
- Governments use the platform to search and trace complex ties like tenders and state labs.
Export License Blocked By OSINT Link
- Jaap recounts a case where his platform revealed a buyer's director linked to a firm that won a military tender.
- That trace led an export officer to block a sensitive license.
