The Asia Chessboard Washington’s New China Tech Strategy
Jan 20, 2026
Emily Kilcrease, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and former U.S. trade representative, joins to discuss America's evolving tech strategy toward China. They explore the urgency around AI as a national security priority, influenced by Pentagon strategies. The conversation reveals shifts in trade policies, including rollbacks of export controls and tariffs. Emily also analyzes how these decisions might affect U.S. competitiveness in technology and the reactions from allies amid current global tensions.
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Tech As The Deciding Battleground
- The Biden team saw AI and other frontier tech as force multipliers central to strategic competition with China.
- They believed the next few years of tech development would determine future military advantage.
Policy Shift From Security To Deals
- The Trump 2.0 administration shifted focus from security-first framing to economic deal-making with China.
- That pivot produced mixed signals and uncertainty across U.S. policy instruments.
From Controls And Grants To Tariffs And Stakes
- The Biden era had layered export controls and an industrial policy focused on U.S. investment and limiting diffusion of advanced chips.
- Trump 2.0 rescinded key rules and favors tariffs and direct state intervention instead of incentives.
