The techno-geopolitical landscape has shifted radically and rapidly across numerous dimensions. In response, countries and international institutions are developing new policies, regulations, and rules of the road for the 21st century economy, including China whose geostrategy—spanning technology, global commerce, international development, and global security—aims to unseat the United States as the world’s leading superpower, undercut U.S. influence around the world, and build alliances to bolster its dominance. The United States needs to play a more assertive role in the international arena to protect U.S. competitiveness and counterbalance China’s global ambitions.
Recently, the Council’s National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers issued a call to action in its report, Competing in the Next Economy: Innovating in An Age of Disruption and Discontinuity, undergirded by seven strategic pillars. The 3rd pillar’s set of recommendations focuses on solution paths to asserting greater U.S. global leadership. Four key areas of action are high priorities:
First, promote U.S. competitiveness interests globally and counterbalance China’s geostrategy. On a glide path to superpower status, China has moved aggressively to assert influence over international institutions that develop rules for the 21st century economy and standards for emerging technologies. It’s spent more than $600 billion in global development and infrastructure initiatives, taken control of an increasing number of ports worldwide, and locked-down supplies of minerals crucial for advanced technologies. Unfortunately, the United States is dangerously reliant on China for supplies and manufactured goods. Through these efforts, China seeks to build a cadre of allied countries friendly to its geopolitical, economic, and national security goals. It sees these activities as an integral part of international competition and its quest to shape a new world order with itself at the helm. China is not the only player in this game. U.S. allies in the EU have promulgated regulations designed to disadvantage U.S. competitors, including regulations on data privacy, digital markets, antitrust, and artificial intelligence.
This is a pivotal moment as other nations develop regulations for the transformative technologies that will define the future—such as artificial intelligence, 6G, quantum, autonomous systems, biotechnology, space-related tech and hypersonics—including regulations on foreign direct investment in critical technology sectors.
The United States needs to play a more muscular role in promoting liberal free market principles and counterbalancing China’s ambitions by asserting its soft power in international economic, scientific, and security institutions and arrangements. This includes: increasing the number of Americans working in multilateral organizations such as the OECD, World Intellectual Property Organization, the WTO, and international financing institutions; negotiating technology and trade pacts to advance and protect dual-use technologies critical to our national and economic security; forging a unified voice among allies in UN scientific organizations and international rulemaking authorities; deploying a more strategic approach to foreign development assistance; and ensuring U.S. industry standards groups are able to play a robust role in international standards-setting organizations.
Second, ramp-up protection of U.S. intellectual property rights and enforcement of U.S. intellectual property laws. New technologies and the U.S. industries that advance them are central to U.S. economic prosperity and national security, and they are prime targets for industrial espionage and IP theft. China has engaged in history’s largest and most sophisticated theft of IP—targeting or pilfering U.S. IP, technologies, and research from nearly every U.S. industry, companies from start-ups to the Fortune 100, and universities. In another form of IP infringement, counterfeit products can put the health and life of Americans at risk. A counterfeit microchip malfunction in a military system could lead to system failures that put warfighter lives and missions at risk. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals could put lives at risk. U.S. wealth is stolen. Jobs are lost. And U.S. national security, the competitiveness of U.S. companies, and U.S. lives are at risk.
Stopping the theft of U.S. IP must be an integral part of the resolution of trade, security, and foreign policy issues with China. Consideration should be given to decoupling from China on frontier, dual-use technology R&D activities. We should elevate responsibility for IP protection to the most senior U.S. government officials; develop a U.S. IP protection strategy and deploy it across Federal economic, trade, and national security agencies; and increase U.S. penalties for IP infringement. This could include barring infringing products or serial IP rights violators from the U.S. market, and preventing foreign companies that repeatedly infringe on U.S IP access to the U.S. banking system.
Third, counter security threats from China and other adversaries. The U.S. intelligence community assesses China as the most persistent cyber threat to the United States. Its cyber-based theft of U.S. research, data, and IP is fast tracking China’s indigenous science and technology capability, turning our own advancements—often publicly funded—to compete against us commercially and match us militarily. U.S. science, technology, and innovation infrastructure must have robust cyber security.
Require state-of-the-art cyber security protection in all federally funded R&D programs, bilateral R&D partnerships, and multilateral large-scale research facilities, such as CERN and ITER. In addition, the resources and mandate of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States should be expanded to review foreign investments in VC funds, private equity, and start-ups in frontier, dual-use technology such as AI, quantum, advanced semiconductors, biotechnology, and space.
Fourth, learn from successful models used by our allies and competitors, and adapt them to the U.S. innovation ecosystem. Nations around the world—U.S. friends and foes alike—are experimenting with a range of innovative policies, partnerships, and models to supercharge their innovation ecosystems. We should learn from successful models abroad and adapt them to U.S. contexts. We should increase the presence of American students, researchers, scholars, and participants in research programs with allies and partner nations to enhance the exchange of valuable knowledge, help cement important collaborative ties, and provide a counterbalance to China’s increasing presence in international research programs.
As the 21st century global economy and geostrategic landscape develop, the United States is the only nation that can meet the China challenge. U.S. leaders must step up to the plate, and defend a free, fair, and liberal market-based world order as rapid technology advancements rewrite the economic and competitive playbooks around the world.
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